The Quiet Ones
by taoist elf
Summary: ON HIATUS (for now) They always say it's the quiet ones you have to watch out for. When someone is used to getting nothing in life, what happens when suddenly, quietly, they're given everything they've ever dreamed of? Sometimes it's not so complicated. A realistic fairytale (not an oxymoron) - equal parts grit, fluff and raw sap. Embry/OC, J/B, and some Paul chaos
1. Chap 1

'_Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No copyright infringement is intended. Blah blah blah... just havin' fun._

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This is an idea I've wanted to play with for a while. It's loosely (and I do mean _loosely_) based off stories told me by a Rosebud Sioux friend of mine. Someone suggested I try playing with Embry as a main character and this is the psych I came up with.

A short and strange little ditty, it's a even rougher than my usual (as in editing/smoothing because of time) and it's written to be a realistic (and a little raw) _fairytale_.

As usual, no prereader/beta – if typos were a commodity I'd be rich.

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**Ground rules:** Events in the Twilight saga _didn't happen_, just playing with the characters (and am emotionally INCAPABLE of writing a jilted side-character Jake). I always try to provide context _contextually_ lol but for your general info, most of these characters are in their early 20s and have been Phasing for 5 years. Only added Pack to books' mix is Levi who is the youngest and Jared's brother.

**Warning:** This chapter particularly features _mature references_ to alcohol, drugs and sex and contains bad fuckin' language by one Mr. Paul Lahote and a few other culprits. This is my _raw and dark_ spin on Embry (you shouldn't be surprised if you've ever read my stuff) but, like I said above, in its essence it's really a _fairytale _at heart.

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Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy.

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**Chapter 1**

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The hypnotic bass was undulating across the dance floor, bending bodies softened by substances to its indomitable will. Embry Call hit back a swallow of pure vodka and then wiped the burn from his lips with the knuckle of his thumb as he watched couples hypnotized by desperation and the 808 into basically fucking in public.

"Now that's a nice fucking pair of melons right there with an apple-bottomed ass to match," Paul whistled under his breath, tipping back his drink and swishing it in his mouth.

Embry's gaze slipped out to the female tittering away with her girlfriends at the bar. Propped up on six-inch spikes that jacked her ass up obscenely under a mini-dress that barely covered it, her legs went on forever. Embry had always been a legs man.

"You gonna hit that, man, or am I?" Paul laughed softly, setting down his drink on the stand-up table and leering at Embry out of the corner of his eye. Paul was an observant man, so he was well aware of Embry's tastes by now.

Sniffing a laugh, Embry tipped back the rest of his liquor, gasping as he set the thick glass down without comment.

"C'mon, Call," Paul taunted with pursed lips, shifting his lounge against the wall. "Don't be shy, y'little pussy."

Embry cut his eyes over at his Packmate with a bland hitch of lips. He wasn't shy, he was _patient_ – there was a difference. He'd spent his entire life living off scraps that fell from the table so he had to be. He'd never been good enough to get a seat.

In fact, the only thing he'd gotten that was worth a shit was this body – six feet four inches of long lean muscle, brown skin and hazel eyes.

The girl turned over her shoulder with a coy tuck of her chin and looked straight at him.

"There it _is_, dude," Paul egged him on in a hiss.

Glancing at the wolf with a roll of his eyes, he pushed his hand through his hair and then picked up his glass.

And prowled.

Her painted lips oozed up in a pleased smile as he made his way across the room toward her.

Embry had never been much of a talker –because it never did any good – but luckily, looking like he did, all he had to do was show up suited up in a tight black tee and jeans, and they'd do the rest.

"Can I buy you another drink, handsome?" she cooed as he stepped up beside her and her friends magically disappeared.

Embry nodded with a small smile. "Vodka," he murmured as his gaze fell to the glass he slid across the bar.

Looking like _she_ did, she quickly got the bartender's solicitous attention and ordered his drink and Sex on the Beach for herself.

When the bartender had left to get the drinks, she smiled up at him, "I'm Clarice."

"Josh," he told her, peering from under the wash of his bangs. The only name he'd been given – with no mitigating middle – was too odd to be dropped without comment, so he borrowed his father's like he did everything else. His mother had slipped one drunken night and confirmed what everyone knew and no one cared about. But him.

The girl nodded with a tip of her head that was meant to be sultry, but there was something about her that screamed insecure.

His eyes washed over her face, gathering the subconscious cues he was so cursed to see whether he wanted to or not: she'd been abused, sexual, physical… _something_. And she was desperately trying to prove she was good enough too. The damaged ones always picked him out of a crowd.

He'd have to be gentle with her. "You're beautiful," he told her quietly and watched the sun rise in her eyes.

"Thanks," she giggled. "You're not so bad yourself."

Embry's lips spread in a soft smile.

The bartender returned with their drinks and Embry slapped down a 20 and told him to keep the change. He always paid his rent.

While he sipped his drink, he listened as she made small talk around sucking her drink up a tiny straw. Every move of hers was intentional like she spent a lot of time searching the mirror for herself.

He led her to the dance floor and held her tightly when she would have tried to put on a practiced show (another thing she'd learned from the mirror). She was warm and soft and smelled like perfume and beauty products and it felt good to have her in his arms.

Half an hour later, wrapped in those long legs and latex, Embry was crushing her against the tile in a bathroom stall. He never liked the taste in his mouth so he spent as little time on lips as he could before he was painting kisses and reassurance over her skin while his hands pushed her g-string aside.

In careful hands, he gave it to her good while she bit her lip on moans. And for twelve heated minutes they borrowed the touch of skin and artificial intimacy from another in the grimy bathroom of a Port Ange bar that smelled like piss.

Then time was up.

A loud rap on the metal stall prefaced a voice pitched to intimidate. "**Move on, you two!**"

Panting, Clarice giggled up at him with sated eyes. "It's always the quiet ones you've got to watch out for."

Embry gave her a smile, pulled out and her dress back into place in a single move. He slid off his cum-filled rubber and absently tossed it in the toilet while he watched her straighten her dress and pull out a compact from the little purse hung on the stall door.

"I've got roomies," she told the mirror as she painted on new lipstick. "You want to take me home?"

Embry leaned his shoulder against the rusted metal, pushing his hand back through his sweat-damp hair. "You don't wanna come home with me, sweetheart," he murmured with a bitter sniff. No one did.

She replaced the cap as she looked up with disappointment she was a little too drunk to hide.

He pushed off the stall and his hand slipped along her jaw as he leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Painting on a smile, she blinked up at him and then unlatched the stall door.

They left the bathroom, ignoring the stares of the man pissing in the urinal and then stepped out into the deafening noise and anonymity of the club.

Embry leaned down to her ear. "Another drink?"

She nodded and he flagged down the bartender, ordering her the cocktail.

"You're not having another?" she asked.

Shaking his head, Embry shoved his hands in his pockets. "Gotta go."

The girl tried to hide the hurt behind a dismissive shrug but he saw it. He _always_ fucking saw it. They were all desperate and lonely, lost and broken underneath their attitude and bling… just like Embry himself.

He slid his eyes away from her pain under the pretense of paying it down.

Turning with her drink in hand, he found her scribbling her number on a napkin. Capping the pen, she looked up with a smile, painfully cocked to be casual and wry.

His hands slipped to her shoulder as he leaned down by her ear. "Thank you, sweetheart," he whispered, brushing a soft kiss over her temple on the way back up.

And then Embry turned away.

He watched his hands fold the napkin over into a smaller and smaller square as he pushed out of the club and into the cool quiet night. His gaze crossed the road to the lights sparkling around the Port Ange harbor as the breeze trundled down the empty streets. Spring was finally on its way.

He'd just take a walk around the bay until Paul called him.

But as he glanced across the parking lot, he found the wolf in question already waiting, leaning back against the Camero and lazily buttoning his button fly while watching a girl sashay tipsily back to the club. Embry's eyes lowered as she passed by – he didn't want to know what her story was.

"See y'around Paulie," she called out twangily, hurting Embry's ears. Grimacing, he tossed the tight tiny folded napikin in a garbage bin as he passed it by.

"No-call Call," Paul snickered. That one never got old, apparently.

But unlike Paul, who had several go-to girls back at the Rez, Embry didn't have the heart to hit 'em up more than once. He could always see the yearning for more in their eyes and it made it harder and harder to turn away.

Continuing his unhurried amble across the lot, he met Paul's smirk with a dry flare of nostrils. "That was fast," he muttered.

"She's done me before," Paul chuckled. "Short n' sweet …and cheap."

Embry arched a brow. "Hooker?"

"Fifty bucks and a drink?" A cavalier shoulder hopped. " 'Didn't feel like spending time on the bullshit wind-up. And I got a _40 minutes_ of head…" Paul sniffed a laugh as he turned and opened the driver's side door. " 'Bet you got ten."

Embry sighed irritably at the fogged up windows.

Like the animals they all were, sex smelled good to them, but he wasn't really in the mood to steep in his Packmate's purchase-high for the long ride home. Like always though, he'd take the dregs as they came without complaint, even if they _were_ Paul. It made him feel not so alone… and – as piss-poor as he was– it didn't hurt to save a little on gas.

Being the considerate asshole he was, Paul rolled down the windows for the drive back to the Rez. Embry watched the miles go by while he patiently listened to hardcore porn and posturing from the driver's seat until his ears bled.

Because eventually Paul would start on other stuff - _important_ stuff - and he knew Paul didn't really have any friends. Like how he was getting sick of Jacob's big fucking mouth (he felt out of place and jealous) or how he had a dream last night that he was fucking Bella and it scared the shit out of him (he was afraid he'd ever find an imprint of his own).

" 'Had a few of those," Embry muttered out into the dark woods flying by.

"You too?" Paul barked a laugh. "Fuck, I just hope Alpha-boy don't get a whiff cause I swear you'll have to pick up the pieces with tweezers. Y'know, I don't have that alter-boy mind of yours."

Embry sniffed - didn't they all know? He wished he could bleach some of those images from his memory. Paul had lost his virginity at age 12 and had been heartily fucking out his rage with increasing kink ever since. Embry, on the other hand, had popped his cherry the day before his 20th birthday. Finally, simply unwilling to watch any longer, Paul had taken him up to Port Ange and paid a girl to show him how it was done.

And the rest was sorry, sordid history.

Embry didn't need much (and boy did he ever get it) but he found he _needed_ to borrow the comfort and release every once in a while – two things that were pretty pitiful when you got them in a bathroom stall or stranger's bed.

"Shit, I wish the fucker would just go ahead and _mark_ her already," Paul growled suddenly – still stuck on Bella. "Dreaming 'bout the preggo den mommy's a little too kinks even for me."

Sighing, Embry let his head settle back on the chair. He knew they were waiting until the baby was born.

But it _was_ disturbing. Even if it was natural, he supposed, because Bella wasn't an imprint so that supernatural voodoo hadn't slammed her into the same sister category the way it had with the other girls. To make matters _more_ complicated, she was kind and caring, giving and kind, and basically everything Paul and Embry had never had.

But secretly dreamed of. And then woke up feeling guilty.

" 'You think it's ever gonna happen?" Embry asked the long dark road ahead.

"To us?" Paul cackled. "Shit, no way," he clapped a heavy hand on Embry's shoulder. "You and me, asshole? We're the few and the proud." He chuckled to himself as he switched his hand back to the wheel and propped an arm on the door. "The few and the proud…"

Neither of them were proud of shit.

Except for their Alpha who _wouldn't_, imprinting had so far happened without fail around age 18 - or 17 if you happened to be sunny Seth. Well, Leah quit the wolf and moved away around then – she might have been the only other one of them fucked up enough to be the exception.

As they turned onto familiar Rez roads, Paul cocked his head, rearranging himself in his seat. "So 'moms still holding it down?"

Embry turned from the window and nodded. It was a part-time job cleaning toilets at Forks hospital, but at least it paid for her medication: alcohol and whatever other shit was into these days. Otherwise he'd never have been able to afford the bills.

"Well you can always hope for a DUI, dude," Paul snorted bitterly.

"Shut it, Lahote," Embry snarled, flashing canines across the car.

Paul laughed at him, unperturbed. "Shit, I dunno what I woulda done if the old man hadn't gotten ten for dealing. You can dream, bitch. You can dream."

Yeah, he could dream. And wake up feeling guilty.

Embry closed his eyes soundly and turned out the window before opening them again. As sick as it was, Paul was the only one who really understood. Talks like this in the car were the closest he ever got to a heart-to-heart. Even with what invariably slipped up in the Pack mind, Quil and Jacob – who were technically his best friends – would never truly be able to understand. He made sure it stayed that way. He didn't want to ruin their lives too.

Still laughing to himself, Paul pulled the car into the dark driveway of Embry's crappy little shack. The light in the living room was on at three a.m. on a Friday night.

This time Paul shockingly reined in his fucking mouth. "Welp," he popped, not bothering to put the car in park. "Guess I'll see you at the shop tomorrow, Call. Maybe we can still hit Buzz's this weekend for something a little longer."

Embry slapped a clap into his hand with a smile for the ride and no comment.

And then turned away and got out of the car.

"Take care, man," Paul called after him, quieter this time. More _sincere_. He knew what was waiting for him through that door.

Paul wasn't so bad – he was desperate and lonely, lost and broken underneath the mess. Just like they all were.

"You too," Embry turned and ducked down to meet his eyes. And then closed the door.

Paul didn't bother with useless niceties like waiting until he got to the dilapidated porch. The faster he got out of there, the more he lessened the chance of seeing something that would humiliate Embry. Like he'd said, Paul was the only one who really understood.

The lights whipped away from the house and Embry heard the macho squeal of tires on the road as he hopped up the flight of three steps. He could hear she was _alone_ at least and snoring like a tractor. At least she was breathing.

The front door was left ajar and Embry gritted his teeth over the sour scents leaching out. He pulled open the rickety screen that didn't do much good when the bottom panel was kicked through. He needed to get that fixed. Spring was coming.

Embry edged silently into their living room where the old CRT TV was babbling away to no one in particular. It looked like a whirlwind frat party had hit it, and hit it hard. Bottles were strewn on the floor and table. The kitchen just beyond looked like Tohuko Japan after the wave. Wrappers and pizza boxes, bottles of gin.

Huffing out a sharp sigh, he crossed the room toward the water that had been left on, running endlessly into the kitchen sink. Tonight had been an unusually bad one – maybe she _didn't_ still have that job after all. He was so incredibly fucking glad he'd taken Paul up on his offer and hadn't come home after work.

As he passed the couch he took stock of the woman passed out, sprawled halfway on the couch. Her face was puffy and sallow and she'd puked on herself and the floor.

"Fuck, mom," he spat under his breath as he passed by. In the kitchen he reached the faucet and yanked the water off to its incessant drip.

Pushing his hands through his hair, he turned back and skirted around the couch. Her box of drug stuff – that he never opened but could smell - a half-empty glass of liquor … whether it was the last paycheck or not, she'd obviously gotten paid and shared her bounty with a few friends.

Thank God they were gone.

Absently pulling out the coffee table, he stepped over mess and scooped her up in his arms. Tiffany Call groaned, whipping her head back and forth a few times.

"Shh," he soothed as he strode back around the couch. "It's just me, mom."

She quieted, leaning into his chest, as he shimmied down the narrow hallway to her room. Rearranging her in his arms, he swept clothes and junk from her bed and sat her down on it, steadying her with a hand at her back while he pulled her soiled shirt up. Her head lolled back and forth while she mumbled something unintelligibly.

"You're okay," he murmured, stripping the shirt and tossing it to the floor with the rest of the mess.

Settling her on her side – just in case her stomach decided for round two – he pulled a blanket up over her.

She made some kind of whimpering mumble as she pulled both hands under her cheek like a little girl and - for just an instant – she looked like a woman he vaguely remembered from healthier days. She'd never gotten over whatever had happened with his father and had been tanking slowly every since, but over the last five years he'd been a wolf, her "functional dysfunction" had spiraled wildly out of control.

This is what happened when you had nothing: sometimes you got sick of begging and started borrowing trouble instead.

Cocking his head as he brushed the hair from her face, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her clammy forehead. "G'night, mom," he whispered.

Then he turned away.

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Embry carried the casserole to the huge table set up in Jacob and Bella's kitchen.

"The Pack pussy's in true form," Paul snorted as he ambled through the doorway with a bottle of beer in his hand and a smirk.

"Shut up, Paul," Bella snapped, turning from the stove with a scowl.

Embry glared as he set the dish down in the middle. Like always, he made sure to pay his rent. Frankly spending time in the kitchen with women, soft music and softer conversation was soothing. Of course, it also afforded plenty of opportunity to watch.

And dream.

"Anything else, Bella?" he asked his Alpha's mate.

Her eyes swept back to him and she gifted him with a smile. "No, you've done enough. Sit yourself down, Emb," she told him. "We're pretty much done."

Basking for just a heartbeat in the grateful attention of the four women, he turned his back and stepped over the bench at his place at the table.

"Fucking brown-noser," Paul spat as he sat down opposite him.

Embry flashed canines over the table. Even though he knew Paul was just blowing of disconcerted steam after that dream of his, Embry really wasn't in the mood after cleaning up barf and bottles all night.

Quil crossed the kitchen to the refrigerator and then came back to sit by Embry, handing him a beer.

"Thanks man," Embry murmured as he popped the top and took a sip.

While light banter and conversation went on around him, Embry listened and watched the world around him – like he always did. Jacob helped Bella ferry dishes to the other end of the table and Collin stepped over the bench beside Paul while Seth pulled Nina into his side. Emily tried to hide her impatience while Kim kissed Jared before he and his brother Levi left to relieve Sam and Brady of patrol.

"So you shoulda seen what Call hit last night," Paul snickered, pulling Embry's attention from where he was dishing out casserole. "Her legs went on for _miles_."

Quil elbowed him with a gawky laugh. " 'You find out where they ended, dude?"

He could only live vicariously… for the next ten years. His imprint was eight. As selfish as it was, Embry had actually thanked the gods that one of his two best friends had imprinted on a toddler… until Bella had come home and up made up for it twice over.

Embry took another swig of beer.

Paul passed the dish down to the wide eager eyes of Collin - a seventeen year old still jerking off to dirty mags. He and Brady were a few months apart with only Levi younger by a year.

"Oh yeah," Paul purred. "That rainbow ended balls-deep in a pot o' gold," he whistled under his breath.

Quil laughed again as he grabbed up a plate of ham. " 'She take you home, bro?" he asked.

Embry glanced up from the potatoes he was piling on his plate. "It wasn't like that," he told him quietly with a glance up to where Bella had her head tipped down to her plate with a blush.

"_Hell_ to the no," Paul coughed with a leer. "Call did 'er good and nasty against O'Malley's bathroom wall 'til he got busted and-…"

"**Stop**!" Jacob snarled from the head of the table. "There are _women_ in the room. Have some damn _respect_!"

Paul tucked his chin, hiding his smile as he reached for the rolls.

From under the brush of his bangs, Embry glanced down the table at where Kim, Emily and Nina were all a little too interested in their plates. A blush stained Bella's cheeks where Jacob rubbed an absent apology down her back.

Then she cast a covert glance at Embry.

_Shit_, he hated that look in her eye – betrayal, confusion, disgust. Somehow he was able to fake it enough for her to think he was worth something.

But still she was always so caring. Clearing her throat, Bella sat up a little more and took a sip of her lemonade. "Did you get her number, Emb?" she asked, turning to him with a forced smile.

Embry licked his lips uncomfortably. "Yeah," he breathed with a nod and reached for his beer.

"Threw it away," Paul goaded across the table. "_No-call _Call."

It was the last straw.

"**Damn it, Paul**!" Embry barked slamming his palm on the table so hard dishes rattled.

Everyone jumped into silence.

The harsh sound of scraping wood made everyone tuck their heads as Jacob stood up to his full height and stalked down the table on the other side. He fisted his hand in Paul's hair and yanked his head back as he leaned down by his ear.

"I don't know what your problem is today dickhead," he snarled too low for the human ear. "But if you don't leave it behind or take it somewhere else I'm gonna fucking beat it out of your sorry ass until you're shitting blood."

Paul's adam's apple jumped and struggled with his swallow.

"Got it, Lahote?" he hissed, jerking his head back harder.

Eyes rolling under their lids he nodded minutely in their Alpha's iron first.

With a low grow, Jacob threw the wolf's head forward so hard he nearly face-planted in his mashed potatoes. His eyes darted across the table, at where, chin tucked, Embry was looking up from under his bangs. The expression in his friend's eyes was cold and completely unreadable – even to Embry – and it sent a shiver down his spine.

Cracking his neck, their Alpha stalked back to the end of the table while heads bobbed back up. Slowly conversation rose up again on tiptoes skirting anything inflammatory for sports commentary and video games.

Altercations like this weren't uncommon for a pack of testosterone-driven wolves – with Paul in the mix like a potent accelerant – but usually they weren't such animals around the imprints.

Embry filled his plate and dug in, sullen and silent, ashamed that Bella had heard some of the gory details of last night. Every once in a while he'd glance up from his food to catch Paul glaring a million things at him across the table and then they'd both quickly avert their eyes.

Insight hit him like a ton of bricks: in their own ways, they were both were starving for validation from their borrowed mother in a family where both of them felt like the black sheep misfits. The sensitive soul she was, Bella gave it to them both when she could but, at only 22 herself, between her mate, a Pack and now an unexpected baby, she had so much on her plate.

But at least, being the best fighter and offense,_ Paul_ had seat at the proverbial table. Everyone had a place, it seemed, but Embry. Sam was second, Jared was a strategist, Quil was the fastest and Jacob was just _Jake_ which would have been enough even if he _weren't_ their Alpha.

Sensing his insecurity like she always did, one day Bella had told him he was "so sensitive he kept all of them balanced." Even though he should be grateful for any scrap of compliment, it was the kind of thing that girls said that made a guy's balls fall off, turning to dust before they could roll across the floor.

Pack pussy indeed… Embry couldn't even be a man right.

Suddenly all heads jerked up as the back door opened with a jubilant slam against the porch and Sam and Brady stumbled in together… _laughing_.

The table instantly froze, all eyes turning curiously to the sight of somber Sam Uley with a smile and his arm slung around the younger wolf.

"Hey guys," Sam greeted them all with unusual cheer. Slipping his arm from around the boy's neck he socked him playfully in the shoulder and then crossed immediately to where Emily stood from beside Bella. Wrapping his arms around her with his very _usual_ devotion, he proceeded to suck off his imprint's face.

"Hey, Bray," Jacob grinned sunnily from the head of the table. "What's goin' on?"

The wolf stood in the middle of the kitchen, smothering a boyish smile while his complexion tried to mute his blush.

Sam came up for air. "Tell 'em, Bray," he pulled Emily into his side.

"I-I…" he stammered, his eyes finding where his toe was prying into a crack in the floorboards. "I _imprinted_."

The kitchen exploded.

Embry painted on a smile as questions and congratulations tumbled through the room while inside he felt his heart wither a little more. Now the only _un_imprinted wolves in the Pack were Collin – a few months younger – and Levi who was only 16.

And, of course, Embry and Paul.

Embry glanced up across the table at Paul who was tipping his beer back and waiting for his eye. His lips oozed up in a _told-ya-so_ smirk as he set his bottle down and then dug into his plate.

The rest of lunch crawled by while they heard about that "fateful moment" from first Brady and then _again_ from Sam. Apparently the boy had imprinted at the beach while they were rinsing off after patrols and on his childhood friend who'd just moved back to the Rez.

Appetite long gone, Embry pushed food around on his plate while all the imprinted wolves launched into spirited reminiscences of "how it happened" and all the _quirky endearing _mishaps ending ultimately in imprint fucking bliss that followed after.

When he just couldn't stand it anymore, Embry stood with his plate and stepped over the bench to get on the dishes. Pushing his hand through his hair, he stared out over the late afternoon while he filled the sink and tried to shore up a hope that was running dry.

He was so distracted, he didn't hear her until that cool, gentle hand brushed over his elbow.

"Hey," Bella whispered, depositing her prop dish into the soapy water with the rest of load of pans. "Are you doing okay?"

Embry looked down and nodded, his lips curving automatically in response to that kind smile.

She pulled open the dishwasher, watching him out of the corner of her eye. "It's going to happen," she breathed cannily.

Sometimes he wished she _wasn't_ so observant.

"I know," he lied, diving his hands into soapy water for the first baked-on pot.

She continued on, presumably trying to for a casual caring conversation, "Is your mother feeling any better?"

Embry shrugged a shoulder. "Maybe." They all knew the basics at least: he had an addict loser mom. The rest, they didn't understand. Couldn't.

She pressed her lips together, obviously not buying it as she reached up to put away a dish.

Embry quickly dried his hands off and took it from her as she strained on tip-toe.

Bella laughed – a beautiful carefree sound – as he took it and easily shelved it just out of reach of her diminutive height.

"My belly's starting to get in the way," she snorted, happiness in her eyes.

"Sit down, _mama_," he teased her gently. "I got this."

Rubbing her swelling middle, she searched his face for a moment. "If you need to talk, Emb…"

Embry winced internally. Not only at the pity in her eye but also the fact that Paul was undoubtedly listening to every word.

Widening his eyes with theatrical exasperation, he huffed, "I'm _fine_, sweetheart."

Bella capitulated with a giggle and he smiled, leaning down for a peck against her hairline. She smelled sweet and warm and woman.

With a final assessing glance, she headed to the table. Embry turned back to the window with an audible sigh of relief and tried to immerse himself in paying for the meal.

He didn't know what he'd do without the ladies in the Pack… probably be eating deer in the forest so he didn't starve. He'd grown up on microwave dinners and macaroni and cheese and even if he'd had the first clue about a kitchen, who'd want to cook at home when it was like it was?

"_If you need to talk_…" a sarcastic voice whined in his ear.

Embry rammed Paul in the gut with his elbow.

He snickered devilishly as he deposited a load of dishes in the sink, splashing Embry's shirt with soapy water.

Gritting his teeth, Embry picked up the next dish.

"So you up for Buzz's?" Paul drawled, starting on emptying the dishwasher.

Embry expelled an exasperated breath. Paul could be like this - psycho-switching it up when one need suddenly outgrew another.

And, make no mistake, they both _needed_ to escape this scene this afternoon.

"Dunno," Embry mumbled. He knew he'd still be in for a little more passive-aggression (or just the regular type) and – especially after the "good news" and last night – he didn't know if he could stomach it.

"I need two extras this evening to run the north border," Jacob's announcement cut through the general din of a more enthusiastic mealtime than usual. "Cullen called to inform us they're _feeding_ tonight," hot sticky derision dripped from the words.

"I dunno why he lets them fucking hang around," Paul growled low in Embry's ear.

Jacob's imperious bass bellowed across the room, making both of them whip around, "Because we _need_ them!"

The Cullens had come back five years ago, starting off the chain-reaction that stole all their lives. When Bella moved back, one of their coven had become infatuated with her at school (she hadn't given him the time of day) and Jacob had subsequently ordered them away.

But like a bad taco, several months ago they'd come back again because their seer had a vision about the leech who was avenging her fallen mate with a newborn army.

And that, as the Alpha's mate, Bella was in danger.

"_I warned you_, Lahote," Jacob was snarling, as he took several menacing steps across the room.

Paul certainly shouldn't have played with this one: Jacob hated those leeches with a passion, but he simply wouldn't do anything to risk the pregnant love of his life.

"I'll run the border," Embry spoke up quickly, throwing down a kamikaze play to diffuse two bombs. He'd wanted the night to himself, but he was pretty sure a shift was better than Paul right now.

Jacob stopped in his tracks, teeth still bared at the wayward wolf. With an abrupt about-face, he jerked his eyes across the room. "Collin, you're on too!"

Bella slipped up beside her mate and rubbed a hand up his trembling arm, soothing him like she did so well. Jacob turned, melting over her and snuffling her hair before taking her mouth in a tender kiss.

Embry turned away and went back to the dishes

'

'

Embry's paws pounded along the northern border, leaping rocks and dodging trees as he listened to Collin yammer on about some campaign in a war video game he played with Brady. He didn't know why they didn't get enough of war in their everyday lives but it was certainly better than talking about Brady's imprint.

The night was wet and dark with a storm rolling in from the ocean with the deep echoes of thunder in the distance.

A sound up ahead made Embry freeze in his tracks, shutting Collin into silence with a growl. He lifted his nose to the breeze, trying to catch scent through rain drops and uncooperative wind. His sensitive nostrils snatched the first molecule of the stench decay and candy and the beast went wild.

'_They're close_,' he told the young wolf as he went barreling through the forest, veering up to hug the border. _'Why the __fuck__ are they this close to the border?!'_ It was the Cullen's scent – just a subtle difference to the timber of the rotting blood in their veins.

Other than his video games, Collin hadn't seen much battle and he immediately became an alert and timorous shadow at his heels.

Now Embry could hear it: the cat-in-heat hiss of a vampire on the prowl over the sound of thundering hooves.

Redoubling his speed, he hugged the border while the wolf chuffed and barked in warning. In the distance, his brother's howls climbed the night as the other two on patrol locked into the scene. The sky opened up then and rain poured down, obscuring his vision and muddling sense with their crashing splash over the canopy of leaves.

But he knew well where they were: near the meadow where they held the meetings with the Cullen coven.

Embry pulled up short at the edge of the tree line just as a flash of lightning jackknifed across the sky, illuminating a grisly scene. Five deathly white demons were diving into a herd of deer who were scattering and scampering away on terrified hooves.

He watched in disgust as a blond female – a demon in a woman's skin - leaped and grabbed the rack of antlers of one of the beasts, wrestling it to the ground while the creature bleated and growled. Rabid teeth bared, she dove for the throat, latching on as her arms wrapped around its neck like steel cables. The animal brayed piteously, kicking and bucking uselessly against supernatural strength while she fed from the blood pumped by its frantic heart while it lived.

It was the most horrific thing Embry had ever seen.

The other three were still slaughtering the herd. A small black haired female brought another big buck down, pouncing almost gaily on her prize before she dove for its throat.

Out of the chaos, a much smaller doe scampered free, ears plastered back, eyes wild, body twisting while it leaped in a frenzied flee.

One of the big Cullen males chuckled and reached out to bat a casual hand, catching her hind leg. The poor creature tumbled to the ground with a strangled whine of fear.

But before the leech could leap on its prey, a buck reared up and attacked the man with surprising gusto. Hooves fiercely pummeled the demon while the beast growled and grunted.

Obviously enjoying the game, the man threw himself enthusiastically into the flurry of hooves, tackling him in a rolling tumble while the buck writhed against its captor, doggedly trying to gouge him with is rack of horns.

But the leech finally got both arms and legs wrapped around the big animal and, lips peeling back with a hiss from razor teeth, he plunged into its neck.

Hoarse, heartbreaking bellows joined the crashing thunder.

'_Emb, easy_,' Jacob's soothing voice wrapped his mind in velvet. '_There's nothing we can do._ _They're on their side_.'

It was only then that Embry realized he pacing back and forth snarling rabidly and far too close to fucking it all and crossing the treaty line. Muscles jerking and stuttering, his wolf was going ballistic.

Under taser lightning, Embry watched the other two leeches brutally bring down another buck each. The last two animals scattered, fleeing in terror into the thunder with white tails flicking in their wake as they sped off into the darkness.

The meadow was now a battlefield, littered with writhing bodies still braying in pain and fear over the soft grunts and swallows of the feeding demons.

Embry knew his people hunted but never like this. They respected their kills and never let the animals suffer.

'_Embry!'_ Collin barked, dragging his attention from the gruesome feeding frenzy.

Embry's paws were moving before he'd even processed Collins garbled images (he was horrified by the scene too). There was movement on their side of the treaty line.

'_Stay back, Collin,_' Embry ordered.

As the rain poured over a blood-soaked meadow and Embry prowled toward the movement, he scanned and counted - all five leeches were gorging themselves, but he knew this coven had seven in all.

'_What do you see, Emb_?' Jacob asked tensely – he was cantering halfheartedly toward them, still trying to figure out whether he needed to be on scene.

A rustle in the leaves ahead prefaced a soft mewling cry that was almost drowned by the thunder. Hastening his step, Embry found the little doe, writhing frantically in the leaves. Somehow she'd made it out of the meadow and into the woods… on their side of the treaty line.

Head turned toward the meadow where her butchered herd were writhing and bleating as they were drained dry, she was struggling desperately to get up to three delicate legs. Her light fawny coat was spattered with crimson and her back haunch was crushed by the casual strength of the leech's hand. She smelled of blood and terror.

'_Aww, shit, Emb_,' Jacob sighed sadly, stopping in his tracks as Embry slunk toward the creature.

Head and ears lowered submissively he tried to be as non-threatening as a wolf the size of a pony could be. But at some sound he made, those ears spun around followed by her head.

Huge black eyes rolled as the creature scrabbled against the leaves with frantic little squeaks. Embry dropped to his belly in an attempt to reassure it, but it didn't do much good. Both his forms would scare the shit out of the poor little thing and he needed to stay in touch with his Alpha.

But he wasn't going to leave it alone either.

'_Emb…_' Jacob's voice was gentle, rueful.

Head resting on his paws, Embry ignored him, keeping one eye on the bloodsucking demons and the other on where the animal thrashed desperately until finally trauma and a weakened body won the fight. Slowly the flails became less and less enthusiastic until finally its head flopped heavily to the forest floor in defeat.

The doe's breath became rapid and shallow as she went into shock and wide blind eyes glazed over.

A soft whine slipping from his throat, Embry slowly scooched across the leaves toward the quivering animal. The wolf snuffled the dainty body, sticking his nose in fur so soft it felt like a puppy.

'_A puppy?'_ Collin perked up, desperate for distraction from the macabre.

Embry turned over his shoulder and snarled viciously at the cub's approach.

'_Whoa, Emb,'_ the boy whined, dropping to his belly and averting his eyes.

Ignoring him, he went back to inventorying the little doe. He snuffled over her body while his eyes warily watched the meadow. In the predators' jaws the carcasses were now silent and only twitching.

Embry rubbed his nose over her side, scenting bruising and broken ribs. She smelled _so fucking good_ though – like moss and forests and spring.

'_That's because you're a wolf dude,'_ Collin chuckled. _'We eat these guys.'_

With a barking snarl, Embry spun on his paw with a snap of jaws and the cub bared his neck with another fearful whine.

'_Emb, chill.'_ Jacob again. He still hadn't moved from where he'd stopped halfway. _'The wolf's just worked up because of the bloodlust and the scent of two kinds of prey. Do you need me there?'_

Blinking soundly, Embry raised his head trying to clear it. Is that was wrong? Was he no better than these monsters in the meadow? A hungry animal whipped into a feeding frenzy just by watching?

Shoving down disgust, Embry took a few steps back…

And then crouched to the ground with a rabid snarl.

The biggest leech was crossing toward him with casual wave like he was meeting an old friend.

Embry was going to _kill him_. But first he was going to make him suffer.

'_Steady…'_ Jacob was running now.

"Heya dude," the leech called out, stopping a respectful distance away from the line. " 'Mind tossing that snack over the line? Sorry, it -…"

Embry lunged forward with a wicked snarl, as he charged out into the meadow.

'_**STOP**_!' Jacob bellowed through the Pack mind.

The mental order flowed right over him but still it was just enough that Embry lurched to a stop mere inches away from crossing the line. Still he gnashed rabid teeth with hackles raised and ready.

All five leeches had sprung to their feet and into a defensive crouch, their hisses scurrying along under the thunder. Their piss yellow eyes bored a hole into where Embry was swaying back and forth on this paws, seconds from going for the kill.

"**STOP NOW**!" his Alpha's human bellow rolled over the meadow like thunder, pounding Embry's body down to the ground with its power.

"**Embry, back up**," he growled low.

The leeches did the same thing under the sheer weight of Jacob's congenital dominion.

His Alpha's bare feet passed right by where Embry was bound immobile in the grass. He didn't stop until his big toe was actually just on the line, pushing boundaries like he always did.

It was a little bit gratifying.

"What the _fuck_ are you doing hunting so close to our borders," Jacob bit out, shoulders squared menacingly despite the face he was as naked as the day he was born.

"Jacob, I apologize," a simpering voice slithered through the rain. "We -…"

"_Shut up,_ I won't speak to you," Jacob snapped turning his attention back to the big one who looked like a kid in comparison.

"Sorry, Jake," the leech shrugged with a good natured smile. " 'Guess we lost track chasing these guys from the hills. 'Haven't seen a herd this juicy-…"

The smaller blond cut in. "We owe you an apology, Mr. Black," he drawled like cowboy. "We'll have Carlisle go ahead and give you a call to see if we can make amends."

"You do that," Jacob hissed. "Now leave and take this fucking mess with you," he scoffed, waving a disgusted hand at the graveyard.

"Will do," the blonde nodded solicitously.

And, in a supernatural blur they disappeared, taking their leftovers with them without another word.

Arms akimbo, Jacob waited until the leeches were out of hearing.

Then he turned around.

"Collin!" he called out to the forest line. "You're off for the rest of the night. Go home and rest."

A wolf's chuff from the forest heralded the sound of the animal's retreat. Then Jacob turned to Embry, quivering under the Order in the grass as the rain continued to fall.

Lightning flickered through the night, backlighting the hulking form of his Alpha and best friend as he slowly slunk forward.

"Phase and talk to me," he murmured, soft and low over the whispering rain.

Thunder rumbled, vibrating the ground under his paws as Embry stood to all fours and then reared up onto two feet. He pushed his hand through his wet hair, as his eyes darted off to the tree line again where he knew the deer was dying.

"Emb," a firm hand clapped to his shoulder.

He turned back to his childhood friend's eyes, a heavy brow shadowing them with worry. "What's going on?" Jacob asked quietly.

Swallowing, Embry's gaze fell between them.

_So, so much Jake. I just can't take it anymore. _

Out loud he said nothing but shrugged a shoulder.

"I'm worried about you, Emb," Jacob murmured, turning them toward the forest and keeping a hand on his shoulder as he walked across the meadow.

Otherwise Embry would have run.

"I've been worried about you for a while," he conceded, continuing his slow fucking pace. "I know you're quiet and shit, but these last two years you've really been shutting down, man."

Keeping his eyes locked on the trees, Embry ignored Jacob's sideways appraisal.

"Then all this shit with Paul? It just keeps getting worse," he sniffed a humorless laugh. "I mean I know you gotta get laid-…"

Embry ground the mumble in the back of his mouth like pebbles, "Can we not talk about this right now…"

"Sure, sure," Jacob clapped him once on the back. "But we gotta talk about it soon, dude."

As soon as Jacob's hand dropped, Embry was eating up the ground with long jerking strides. Eyes focused on the little form in the leaves, he slowed his step and then slithered down on his knees. The animal was panting rapidly but its eyes were now closed – giving it the blessed illusion of peace.

At last.

Embry smoothed a hand over the creature's quivering flanks, brushing water droplets from that soft hide and feeling the heartbeat flutter under his fingertips.

"God, this is so fucking sad," Jacob sighed, kneeling down beside the Embry in the leaves. "I mean I know we hunt too-…"

"Not like this," Embry rasped, nothing but a gutted whisper. "We're _nothing_ like them."

"No, we're not," Jacob murmured as his hands slipped gently up to the deer's head, cupping it in his huge palms.

It was the telltale twitch of muscle in his Alpha's shoulders that ripped Embry's eyes away from the shattered leg.

"**NO**!" he snarled, shoving the man so forcefully he flew several feet in the leaves.

Catching himself on a deft hand, Jacob's eyes inflated in shock.

"You were going to break her neck," Embry growled, the words bubbling like tar in his gut as he moved so he was between his Alpha and the beast dying on the forest floor.

"To end its suffering," Jacob gaped, incredulous eyes running over the face of his usually temperate friend.

Gaze falling to the leaves Embry shook his head vigorously.

"Emb, the deer's gonna _die_," he whispered, congealing into a crouch and trying to find his eyes. "Don't you want to honor-…"

Something about his tone made Embry's face snap up.

And then he could see it clearly: Jacob had been two heartbeats from saying something that would have made them be his last, Alpha be damned. In their culture it was shameful to waste any part of an animal that had given its life to the tribe - from hoofs to hide, they used everything.

Luckily _Jacob_ had also seen that Embry would rip out his throat for saying it.

Licking his lips and then rolling them as he studied his friend, he then crooned in a voice that was liquid compulsion, "**Go home**. I'll take care of this. I'll bury the deer, okay?"

_He couldn't. He just couldn't. _

"Jake-…" Embry's voice broke, begging with his eyes even as he stood to his feet.

Brows knitting, Jacob straightened as well, "Okay."

And instantly Embry had his body back.

"So-…?"

"I'll do it," Embry rubbed his face with his palms and then tipped his face up to the water droplets seeping through the leaves, hitting his face like tears. "Just let me do it. Please."

For several long moments there was silence while thunder shook the distance and the rain continued to tap across the canopy overhead.

Finally he heard Jacob swallow. "Okay," he released the capitulation on a long slow breath. "I'm gonna stay wolf for a few hours. Just call me if you need help and I'll be there, no questions asked."

Embry tipped his face down, feeling the water track down his cheeks. "Thank you," he whispered.

Jacob nodded curtly.

Ignoring the worry and fear screaming in his Alpha's eyes, Embry turned back to the deer and crumpled back to his knees.

Embry reached out a hand that shook as he stroked a finger down the beast's muzzle, over its black nose.

"Hey, take a few days off," Jacob murmured. "But come to Sunday lunch tomorrow and I'll make sure Paul's running patrols, kay man?"

Blinking slowly at the suffering creature he didn't nod or agree or anything. Eventually Jacob got the hint and he heard two feet jog across the leaves before turning into four.

Embry knew he'd lost his mind, but it had been a long time coming. There was so much in life that broke the fragile heart he'd been cursed with, so much so, that sometimes he felt like he couldn't go on. But he coped, as best he knew how – holding it inside, trying to erect boundaries, doing his best and then just trying to forget it.

Finally, though, he'd reached his limit.

This time he just couldn't turn away.

'

'

The sun was rising by the time Embry was splashing numbly through the stream in the woods behind his house. The northern border was miles away from home and walking as a human through mountainous terrain was arduous at best, but carrying the burden he had it had taken all night.

The doe was small for a deer but still a handful, even if she weighed next to nothing for his preternatural strength. He'd gone slow and tried his best not to injure the creature even more.

He'd expected her to die in his arms.

But she hadn't.

Pushing into his ramshackle shed, he set the animal as gently as he could on the old mattress he kept out here for when his mom had visitors and he didn't want to sleep in the house. Rearranging its limp head on the bare ticking, Embry straightened as his eyes ran over the blood spattered hide. The rain had eventually stopped – though he was grateful for the way it masked his scent from his brothers – and the pelt had dried to a light honey and cream.

She really was a beautiful animal – graceful legs and svelte body with a dainty head that came to a point in a black koala nose. The doe had to be nothing but a yearling but still she'd watched her entire herd be butchered by demons.

Of course, an animal didn't process things the same way – didn't all the wolves know – but still it made Embry sad.

Rubbing his face with his palms, he turned from the panting little heap and pushed back out of the garage, trudging across the wet grass to the house.

His car was still here –he'd hidden the keys – but he didn't hear a heartbeat so that meant his mother was either gone or dead. It was a possibility he'd resigned himself to face every time.

Feet dragging and even werewolf muscles sore, Embry wandered through the house, finding it messy but empty. He couldn't ever remember being this tired… even when he'd been human. He felt like he could barely move.

Rubbing his face blearily again, he stumbled through his bedroom door his mother had left open searching for keys or money both – and caught himself against the wall. After steadying himself for a moment, he stooped and grabbed the blankets and sheets from the single mattress on the floor, grabbed his cell from under the floorboard and then headed to the kitchen.

Embry was starving but he didn't have the energy to eat – even if there'd been something to heat up. So he pulled out a pan and filled it with water, found a rag and then schlepped himself and the supplies back out to the shed with superhuman effort.

His eyelids were weighed a million pounds as he splashed some water in the animal's mouth and then washed her wounds. Breaking an old mop from the back corner in half he then gently straightened the bones in her back leg as best he could while the doe whined and kicked her front hooves feebly in pain. Tearing the sheet into strips, he bound the broken leg to it in a make-shift splint - he knew it was stupid, but doubted the beast would live long enough for it _not_ to work anyway.

Ghosting a hand over the doe's head, Embry tucked the blankets around her and then threw the last one on the cement floor, and promptly fell asleep.

'

A stripe of hot sun fell across Embry's face while something buzzed annoyingly against his leg. With a groan he turned over on his side, every muscle in his body complaining. The buzz stopped only to start again, now grinding into a thigh so sore it felt bruised.

Flopping onto his back, he blearily dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out the cell, still bleating away in his fist. Clicking it on with his thumb he brought it to his ear as thick lids cracked over dry eyes.

"Mmeh," he mumbled.

"Emb, you okay?" Jacob.

Swiping a clumsy hand down his face he tried to push some sentience into his murky mind.

"Emb?"

"Mwuh…" his tongue felt like it was swollen in his mouth.

At a thumping knock and whimper, instinct made his head snap to the side.

And, eyes widening until they ran out of room in his skull, he stared.

"Emb? You there?"

Pushing off the cement, he clicked the phone off, letting it drop out of his numb hand as he gaped in mind-wiped shock at…

A _woman_.

With chestnut hair so long that it cascaded demurely over her nude body, she was pushed into the farthest corner of the garage and frantically kicking a leg strapped to a stick. But it was her face that had him moving before the image was processed by his brain:

She was in pain.

Whimpering, she whipped her head around into the wall as Embry fell on the splint. His hands were ripping the sheet ties off before he could even fathom the impossibility of how they'd been bound to a leg that was spindly bone last night.

Gasping, he popped the bindings free, frantic eyes washing over the way it had cut into her skin and cut off the circulation. His palm was smoothing up a long lithe calf before he even realized what he was doing; gently squeezing to find a bone now healed, massaging blood back, touching...

_Skin. _

Warm to his touch, petal soft.

So _incredibly_ fucking soft_, _like silk that had been washed a trillion times.

Embry couldn't rip his eyes from the sight of his big hand caressing over honey skin several shades lighter than his own, smoothing away the raw white marks that had so blasphemously profaned perfection.

But then his brain made its big debut and Embry froze, sucking in a gasp through his teeth.

He yanked his hands back like he'd been burned while every cell in his body careened to a stop.

Behind him the phone started ringing again, buzzing over the concrete but he didn't even hear it. Slowly his eyes dragged up long lissome thighs to a thin body obscured by the spill of tangled cinnamon… and finally to arms scrunched up in front of her like she was cowering from a mortal blow.

Blinking, Embry scrabbled clumsily back.

His gaze washed over her head tipped fearfully into the space between her shoulder and the wall, hidden behind her hair.

His swallow squeaked in his throat. "Hey," he tried to whisper but it came out more like a rasp.

That chin tucked a little tighter and then turned incrementally toward him, peeking timidly from around the thick sable curtain.

Chin tucked, slowly a heart-shaped face turned to him. The longest lashes he'd seen in his life nestled against high cheeks and a tiny nose whose nostrils flared softly was complimented by perfect bow lips. Her features rolled pleasingly into a masterpiece that spoke to Native ancestry, mixed blood like his own and something else almost too inhumanly beautiful to be human.

But… she _wasn't_, was she?

She wasn't _human_.

Even wolf that he was, he couldn't wrap his muddled mind around it.

Licking his lips, he tried again. "I'm-… I'm Embry."

Her lashes were so long, they drooped when they fluttered as the girl slowly lifted her gaze.

And Embry felt like he'd been socked in the face.

Huge back eyes wrapped around his heart, so achingly soulful and tender that he wanted to fall at her feet and weep. They overtook her face like a child's, but with the presence of a woman and the magnetism of something more still. In an instant Embry knew, without a doubt, that he could fall into those eyes and drown without regret because surely there was nothing more beautiful in the world.

She blinked slowly, freeing him from their bewitching spell and Embry drew in the first breath of seconds or hours, he couldn't be sure.

Or maybe it was just the first breath of his life.

Her head tipped fluidly to the side as delicate brows pushed together, making her look both concerned and confused. She flowed out of her corner, subtly lifting her nose to the air like she was scenting him.

His breath hitching unevenly in his chest, Embry held as still as physically possible as she pushed herself toward him with an effortless grace that made her look like she moved underwater. He couldn't tear his eyes from hers as they washed over his face and her head listed the other way.

When she got to the edge of the mattress she tipped her chin out tentatively toward him.

Mesmerized he slowly scooted closer while he watched her study him with an endearing wonder like she'd never in her life met a man.

Her eyes returned to his, locking into place with two fluttering blinks and bow russet lips curved hesitantly. Without a sound, she leaned in, swooping slowly up until they were nose-to-nose.

Embry held his breath.

Then she leaned in and touched his nose with hers. A single gentle touch that was like ground zero in a nuclear holocaust.

Shockwaves reeled through his body and he shuddered in resonance as her warm breath spilled over his face and he sucked it greedily over his lips so he could savor it in the roof of his mouth. Just like the doe's, her scent was sweet but settled – like springtime and apple-blossoms and rain.

Suddenly she sprang back at the harsh explosion of sound behind him. As the phone bounced and growled across the cement floor, she scrabbled frantically back to the corner.

Embry reached behind him and picked up the cell, silencing it with his thumb– while cursing Jacob Black in every language he knew.

Keeping his eyes locked on the woman now cowering behind a curtain of hair, he brought it to his cheek. "Jake," he whispered to a voice already mid-bellow. "Call you back."

He clicked it off and slid it in his pocket.

Pushing his hand nervously through his hair, Embry's gaze darted over her little body curled in a knot under tangled hair, trying to figure out what to do and carefully ignoring the elephant in the room… or the doe.

These were the facts: here was a naked girl who was afraid; she'd just been through physical and mental trauma; they both needed food, a bath and clothes.

And Embry could hear the television blaring loudly over his mother's drunken laughter.

First things first, he needed to get her somewhere safe and stable.

Flipping his hair out of his eyes, he crawled along the mattress to other end and climbed up to sit on the corner and pulled out his phone again. He dialed one-handed and brought it to his cheek.

"Embry!" Jake growled before it had even rung.

"Jacob," he whispered. "You said if I needed help you'd be there, no questions asked?"

His Alpha immediately snapped to attention. "Yes."

"Well, I need help," Embry breathed, watching the girl peek at him through her hair. "But no questions, right?"

He heard Jacob swallow over the phone, choosing his words carefully – he never lied if he could help it. "No questions for _now_, Emb."

"Um, okay. I-… I-…"

His voice failed him and he could feel the phone shaking against his ear in his hand. He was scared shitless because if this girl really was a shapeshifter, there were a whole fuckload of implications, not the least of which was that they'd have to find out where she was from.

And take her home.

It was the last thing in the world he wanted to do right now. Or ever.

But right now she needed him and he needed his Pack and there was no way he was going to be able to pass her off as a normal girl– not acting like this. Embry _had_ to think of her safety first and not be a selfish prick.

"Emb, _promise_," Jacob soothed, reminding him he was on the other end of the line.

Embry swallowed thickly. "I need you to come to my house…" he whispered and then paused, squeezing his eyes closed for a moment. "With Bella."

Jacob sounded like he was being strangled.

"Jake, I found a girl in my shed," Embry continued, barely audible to all but a supernatural ear. "No questions, remember?"

His Alpha drew in a long measured breath before blowing it out so harshly the mic went static. "Emb if Bella is involved," he said slowly. "You _know_ I gotta ask one question."

"It's safe. Promise," Embry answered. "But pull around to the shed. My mom's home."

"Be there in ten."

"Oh and Jake?" he stopped him.

"Yeah?"

Embry squinted. "Can you bring her some clothes?"

"Sure, Emb," he bit out carefully, obviously battling the soliloquy that wanted to come along with it.

Without any more useless words, Embry clicked off the phone, letting it fall to the bed as his eyes returned to the girl.

He found her no longer curled into a ball and now watching him from under those ridiculous lashes.

Blinking he turned more toward her and offered her a soft smile. "I'm not going to hurt you, sweetheart," he whispered.

_He'd never ever hurt her. _

Her head swayed again to the side, as if trying to understand the words. Unlike the crisp lupine mannerisms, her every move was liquid.

Embry wanted to reach out to her so badly, but if his fucked up life had taught him anything, it was patience. He shifted stiff legs so he could turn to face her, pulling his knees on the mattress. Taking a deep breath he released it slowly and tried to let the tension seep out of his aching shoulders- he still felt like he'd been run over by a mac truck.

But this was worth it.

Just this moment here: those eyes, that timorous curve to her lips, the way she inched across the mattress toward him. For once in his life Embry was proud: he'd saved her life. He could have so easily turned away…

And let Jacob snap her neck.

A heated shudder raced up his spine and he tried to keep the fury out of his face.

But she noticed.

Those sensitive brows knit as she tipped her head to the other side but instead of making her pause it just seemed to propel her forward faster.

In the next instant she was pushing off the mattress with the heels of her hands and leaning toward him. Embry bent forward a little more and again she rose with little sniffs until she touched her nose to his. His body reacted instantly – all the heat was pushed away by the wash of pleasure from just the brush of her skin. He idly wondered if she had some kind of magic because he'd never felt anything like it.

She pulled back and those haunting eyes washed over his face like she was inspecting each pore. He couldn't help that his smile grew broader - she was the most beautiful, gentle creature he'd ever seen and he was getting to spend these moments with her.

Her gaze snapped down to his mouth and then back up to his eyes, the faintest echo appearing on her lips.

"I'm Embry," he whispered, slowly raising his palm to his chest. "Embry."

Eyes darting down to the movement, she looked back up into his face with guileless confusion.

"You?" he asked her quietly. "Embry," he patted his chest and then pointed to her. "You?"

She blinked up at him but instead of answering, she scooted closer and he found he really didn't mind because then she was leaning into his shoulder.

And nothing else mattered in the world.

She seemed to find it as soothing as he did because she released a shaky sigh as her body melted into his side.

Embry's eyes closed into the single best moment of his life.

He wasn't stupid enough to think he was going to keep it, but it was so much better than dreams. Just for now, he let himself slip into this novel sense of peace.

"It's okay. You don't have to have a name," he whispered through a pastel smile, leaning his cheek down hesitantly until it rested lightly on the top of her head. "I'll just call you sweetheart."

Until he had to give her back.

'

* * *

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_Review if you like_.


	2. Chap 2

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Several general notes:

* If you know my stuff, you know I always have all this complicated backstory in my head (only a fraction makes it to the fic). Your questions will be answered (hopefully) but I let the characters tell things in their own time (which is why I end up with such long assed shit).

* Her real name will come soon, so I avoided putting Sweetheart in the prose because it just looks stupid (I tried). It's a little awkward.

* Remember: realistic fairytale, here. What's that, praytell? Well that's where I try to weave realistic psychs and characters, bring in some RL, and you _also_ get to see glimpses of what a fucking frou-frou romantic sap I am underneath it all.

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Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy.

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**Chapter 2**

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'

The sound of Jacob's SUV a quarter-mile out made ice wash up Embry's spine with dread. His heart accelerated like the final countdown clicks of a neutron bomb.

_Time was up._

And apparently she felt it too. The girl picked up her head from where she'd been pressed into his side for the last eight minutes and 42 seconds – he'd counted every one, along with each of her heartbeats, each soft fluttering breath.

Embry's hands fisted tighter on his thighs to keep from wrapping his arms around her so he could count just a few more.

Huge black eyes peered nervously up at him from under lush lashes.

"It's okay," he breathed, strong-arming his mouth into a curve.

But it wasn't okay. It was the beginning of the end.

Embry just hoped to God that Jacob kept his _no-questions_ promise – if only for a few minutes more – so he could steep just a little longer in this beautiful illusion.

The vehicle pulled into his yard with the crackle of gravel followed by the soft swish of grass as he drove back toward the shed. Embry tried to smile reassurances that he wasn't feeling.

That haunting gaze washed over his face while her delicate brow puckered, and she sat up. Air rushed in, replacing the warm weight against his side and Embry wanted to break down and cry.

Outside he could make out the soft conversation in the cab of the SUV.

"_No honey, wait here,"_ Jacob murmured.

As if the girl could hear the same thing, immediately those eyes impossibly widened and she was scrabbling back across the mattress.

Embry watched her go with defeat as his heart filled with lead.

She cowered back into the corner, pulling her knees up to her chest. But those eyes stayed locked with his, round and frightened.

His heavy heart capsized, sinking into the pit of his stomach as he slowly pushed up off the mattress.

_God, he couldn't do this._

_Fuck, he had to._

Pushing his hand through his hair, Embry's eyes swept the room briefly – cataloguing what his Alpha would see. Jacob was sharp man. The shed smelled of deer and blood and the tattered remnants of the splint lay strewn across the floor amid crimson-spattered sheets and a pan of rusted water.

And in the corner trembled a naked, frightened and inhumanly beautiful girl.

Once his mind fought through disbelief, Jacob would easily put the pieces together. Embry just hoped the impossibility of it all stalled the inevitable.

He just wanted to borrow just _a few more minutes_.

The sound of the car door outside made the girl turn her head into the wall as if she could sense what was coming.

Embry's eyes washed over that dainty frame, wrapped in sable tangles and shivering. He should have been spending these last ten minutes trying to coax a sheet around her nudity, but he was such a fucking selfish bastard that he hadn't wanted to lose a second of that soft body pressed so trustingly against him.

_God, he hated himself. _Squeezing his eyes closed on dreams, Embry turned away.

It was the hardest thing he'd done in his life.

"_Are you guys decent?"_ Jacob's whisper filtered into the shack.

Embry opened his eyes and strode toward the door feeling like he was pulling an invisible ten-ton weight behind him. His hand shook as it pushed against the rickety door and he stepped outside into an afternoon of clouds and sun.

Jacob Black was standing halfway between the car and the shed.

Embry was completely unprepared for how he'd react to that face after last night: rage rose up in his chest like tsunami, pushing air out through his gritted teeth in a hiss. _He'd tried to snap her neck._

"Holy shit, Emb!" Jacob gaped – his shock was just enough to distract Embry from the quivering heat in his muscles. "Are you okay?"

Frowning, Embry's lips popped open to-…

"No questions," Jacob quickly amended. He licked his lips slowly as his assessing gaze searched Embry's face and then washed down his body. Meeting his eyes again he announced in a whisper, "You look like shit, man."

_Yeah? Well he felt even worse._ And he was so consumed with what was coming next that he didn't give a shit about whatever his friend was talking about.

Embry's gaze darted off to the SUV where Bella was leaning anxiously into the driver's seat and watching the interplay.

Pushing his hand through his hair, Embry returned to his Alpha's worried eyes. He swallowed, trying to find words… any fucking words at all.

"Let me see," Jacob's bass dropped to that dusky register he used to soothe his wolves.

With a nod, Embry turned back into the shed. The girl was cowering in the corner, round eyes peeking through a sable veil. Brows furrowing, the fear drew him like a magnet and he crossed with slow steps toward the mattress while her eyes kept him in a death-grip.

"_Ohmygod_," Jacob's words were expelled on a breath and those big eyes snapped to the door.

Terror milked a mewling cry from her throat as she dove into the corner, drawing her body into a tight ball that quivered.

That protective fury exploded in his chest, and Embry whipped around with a guttural snarl.

His face a mask of patent shock, Jacob couldn't seem to tear his eyes from the trembling body in the corner. Head tucked and glaring from a feral scowl, Embry prowled so he was between his Alpha and the girl, prying his stare away.

Jacob blinked like he suddenly remembered Embry was in the room and took a step back. A million thoughts were racing, light speed, behind Jacob's eyes as slowly his brow furrowed over them. "Did you _hurt_ her?!" he bit out in a whisper.

The question made Embry flinch like he'd been slapped, but the understanding that blindsided him shortly after was like a fist to the gut.

Embry wheezed as he subtly doubled over.

Jacob's mind was scrabbling desperately for an explanation and apparently rape or loss of control or _anything_ other than what was clearly in front of him was easier to digest.

Embry watched that same conclusion congeal behind Jacob's eyes. "No," he gasped, barely audible, as he took a step back into the doorway. "Of course you didn't," he shoved an absent hand through his hair. "_Fuck_, Emb."

Without another word, Jacob whipped around and disappeared outside.

Realizing he was panting raggedly, Embry straightened, rubbing his hands down his face and trying to push any sense into his brain. He was exhausted and starving and unsettled...

And he _had_ to be better than this. For her.

Turning he found her still cringing in the corner, her hitching breaths staggering over a hummingbird heart.

He felt like he'd been stabbed in the chest.

"Ssh, it's okay," Embry whispered brokenly as he took a few steps toward her. "I won't let anything hurt you," he crooned as he slowly knelt in the middle of the mattress. Hesat on his heels and bent over his knees, his long arm snaking out across the cotton ticking with an outstretched index finger.

He touched the pad to a single curling toe.

Like some kind of sick drug, warmth rushed up his arm from where a square centimeter of flesh was trying to fuse itself to hers. Embry released a soft sigh.

_God, what the hell kind of magic did this girl have?_

But as soothing as the touch was to him, it seemed to be even more so for her because suddenly she was uncurling and grabbing onto his wrist. Surprised, he looked up at where her face was painted with desperation and tears as she dragged herself across the bed hand over fist up his arm.

Embry sat up as she pulled herself up his body, pressing her face into his shoulder as quivering hands gripped his bicep.

"Oh, Sweetheart," he whispered as his other hand lifted hesitantly. Pressing uncertain lips together, his palm smoothed lightly over the crown of her head. Her hair was like spun silk – so unnaturally soft that he could barely feel it through his callouses.

And just like that, the trembling stopped.

Embry's lips curved in wonder as she scooted closer into his side, drawing light rapid breaths over his skin as he continued to tenderly stroke over her hair. Her breathing slowed under his ministrations and she wilted against him.

_He_ was comforting her. It was the most amazing feeling ever.

"Emb?" a soft voice called and Embry's eyes swept up to the door.

Bella was standing in the doorway with worried eyes while Jacob, with his hands firmly on her shoulders, stared stoically over her head.

Swallowing thickly, Embry turned back to the girl panting against him. "Hey Sweetheart," he breathed, smoothing his palm down to the back of her head and resting there. "This is Bella."

Bella spoke softly, "How're you doing, honey?"

The girl slowly looked up from his shoulder. Embry watched her lashes flutter, shedding several lingering droplets as her eyes lifted to the woman in the doorway.

She started pulling herself behind Embry and he scooted up more on the mattress, turning to face the couple and giving her a barrier. She crept behind his back, the long fingers of one hand climbing his shoulder while the other clung to his bicep.

Embry glanced at where Bella was casting a stern glance up at her mate. Jacob's eyes darted out to Embry with a silent warning before he released her and, face warming with a smile, Bella took a few slow steps into the shed.

Turning his cheek, he found the girl cautiously peeking over his shoulder.

"I brought you some clothes," Bella murmured, holding out the folded cloth in front of her swelling belly. "Why don't you get dressed and we can get something to eat, okay?"

Little fingers dug into his skin as Bella moved slowly into the room and then stopped at the foot of the mattress.

Face relaxed in a non-threatening smile, she raised her brows. "Are you hungry?"

The girl moved up a little higher over his shoulder and Embry glanced at where those huge eyes were now fixed on him in artless confusion. Like he was her lifeline.

Embry turned to Bella. "I don't think she understands," he whispered.

Brows furrowing, Bella studied the girl for a moment with new eyes. Licking her lips, she glanced over her shoulder at Jacob – still standing just outside the door – and then slowly knelt down on the edge of the mattress.

"Do you know her name?" Bella turned troubled eyes to Embry.

He shook his head. "She doesn't speak."

Bella's brow puckered again and she slowly set the clothes down beside her.

He could feel that warm weight lean more into his body as she moved sideways from watching Bella over his shoulder to peering around his bicep.

Sitting on her heels, Bella folded her hands in front of her belly and offered her a kind smile.

Looking down at where she was tipping her head curiously at that woman only several feet away, he whispered, "Hey, Sweetheart."

Endless dark eyes flitted up to meet his.

He smiled softly. "She's really nice," he whispered. His hand lifted to push a strand of hair hanging over her face before he'd even thought about it. But she didn't even flinch. Her eyes crossed endearingly as she followed his finger on its path to brush sable back from honey skin.

Her gaze darted back up to his and russet lips curved tentatively.

Embry returned the smile tenfold.

She turned back to the woman waiting patiently at the end of the mattress. Embry had known Bella would instinctively know what to do.

Just like Jacob.

Embry's gaze darted off to where he was still standing just outside the door and watching the scene with intense eyes set in an unreadable mask. Embry wondered what he was thinking.

A soft shuffling heralded that warmth peeling away from his skin and Embry looked down to see dark eyes looking up at him questioningly where she was poised to move toward Bella. He gave her a reassuring smile.

His skin mourned the loss of warm fingers as she flowed forward, somehow graceful on hands and knees. Her hair slipped heavily over one shoulder, revealing the lissome curve of her back and hip. He was struck so soundly with the need to run his palm over the gentle swell that the impact left its mark on his cheek with stinging heat. Disgusted with himself, Embry tore his eyes away.

Stopping in front of Bella, she slowly sat up, tipping her chin out with soft sniffs as she rose. That smile locked in place, Bella didn't move a muscle, even when the girl leaned in closer.

Just like she had with Embry, she touched her nose with her own and pulled back a little, offering the woman a hesitant smile.

"Hey, honey," Bella whispered, eyes curving in disbelief. "You're so _sweet_."

As she sat slowly back on her heels her eyes slipped down to Bella's stomach. Head swaying to the side, long fingers stretched across the distance.

But no sooner had her fingertips lit like a butterfly on the six-month swell, then her eyes were darting past Bella to where Jacob was standing in the door. She immediately snatched her hand away and scurried back to Embry.

Grabbing his bicep, she scooted around his shoulder, nervous eyes still locked on his Alpha.

There were so many questions running through Embry's reeling brain that he could barely keep up, but her anxiety trumped it all.

"It's okay, Sweetheart," he soothed, his fingers lifting to stroke lightly over the knuckles of the hand digging into his arm.

"Oh my God, Emb," Bella breathed. "Where did you find her? Where's she from?"

"Remember, Bells? No questions," Jacob spoke up quietly in the door.

But like he'd screamed it in a rage, the girl dove into Embry's shoulder.

Protective heat detonated in his gut and Embry turned incensed eyes on his Alpha. Jacob's face hardened at the challenge and he flashed his canines.

Like the pro she was, Bella intervened before the wolves could escalate.

"Boys, boys," she scolded with a laugh as she pushed a little awkwardly off the mattress. Her hand rested on her belly as she turned to her mate. "She's scared of you, you dork," she smirked and then jerked her chin. "C'mere."

With a roll of his eyes, but a flicker of an indulgent smile, his big body shimmied through the door and into the shed. He took her outstretched hand.

"On your knees, you big oaf," Bella tugged him down.

It was actually pretty funny to see a five foot something girl pull an intimidatingly muscular giant to his knees… and his little doe was watching the show over his shoulder.

"See, honey?" Bella wrapped her arm around Jacob's thick neck, now at her height. "He looks kinda scary but he's really _just a big puppy dog_," she pursed her lips theatrically as she petted a hand over his head.

Jacob's eyes cut over to Embry with a bland flare of nostrils, but his arms were now wrapped around his mate, his big palm rubbing happily over their baby. Embry was pretty sure Bella could put his hair in curlers and as long as he got to touch her, he wouldn't complain.

Well… maybe not.

Embry laughed softly at the mental image and the muscles in Jacob's jaw bulged.

Leaning in, Bella pressed her lips to his cheek, effortlessly kissing that clenched jaw away. Ever the opportunist, Jacob turned and took her mouth in a soft smacking kiss.

Embry glanced over his shoulder to see what she was thinking about all this. Blinking slowly she turned those mesmerizing eyes on him and his heart stuttered.

Tipping her head, she slowly rose up to her knees as her gaze washed over his profile. Her hand dragged lightly up his arm to his shoulder to brace herself and a gentle brush over his head made Embry's lips spread in a sappy-assed smile. She did it again, petting her fingers over his hair and copying Bella. Then she leaned in and pressed her nose to his cheek, rubbing softly back and forth while her eyes fluttered closed.

Embry felt like his bones had melted.

But, shamefully, that tenderness wasn't enough. Just like Jacob had done, he found he wanted to turn into the gesture and capture her mouth. Desperately seeking distraction, he lifted his hand to her cheek and brushed his fingertips over her soft skin in a chaste gesture of comfort.

"Emb why don't you see if you can get her to get dressed?" Bella asked softly.

Squeezing his eyes closed soundly, he turned to where she was smiling, still wrapped in her lover's arms. Jacob, on the other hand, was watching him with unreadable eyes.

Bella raised a prompting brow and Embry nodded making the girl pull back in confusion. "Hey Sweetheart," he whispered as he leaned forward until his hand could reach the pile of clothes. "You wanna try this?"

He sat back up and pulled the sundress free from the sweater, holding it out just in case she actually knew what it was. Her eyes dropped to the cloth and she scooted around from behind him to sit at his side. He offered it again and she pulled it into her lap, smiling softly as her finger traced the tiny flowers set in natural unbleached cotton.

"What do I do?" Embry turned back to them helplessly.

Bella was chewing thoughtfully on her lip. "I think it's going to take a while," she mused under her breath. "Let's get home first. I've got an idea… toss me that sheet, Emb?"

Moving slowly, Embry reached out to the blanket he'd slept on and pushed it across the floor. Jacob reached down and grabbed it for her.

"Kay, Jake," she turned to her mate. "Wrap it around me and then pick me up."

Understanding seeped into Jacob's eyes and he unfolded to his feet.

At the movement, the girl looked up quickly.

"It's okay," Bella smiled. "See?"

A wry smile hitching his lips, Jacob wrapped the sheet around her and then scooped her carefully up in his arms.

"Embry's going to do that with you too," Bella told her.

The girl's gaze darted instantly to his own. Did she recognize his name?

Smiling at the thought, Embry pulled the other sheet off the floor and held it up with a raise of his brow. He reached out with the sheet as he went up on his knees. Watching his eyes, she did the same clutching the dress to her chest and he gently wrapped it around her body arms and all.

"Ready, Sweetheart?" he whispered, stepping in closer. Eyes locked with his in a show of trust that made his heart ache, she leaned into his shoulder and he wrapped her in his arms.

Embry bit his lip as he stood easily to his feet, fatigue and sore muscles long forgotten. She felt amazing in his arms. Small, delicate, warm, she melted against his chest like she wanted to be there.

Carrying her bridal style, he hiked her up a little higher and she turned into his neck, panting quiet anxiety over his skin. He could feel her body subtly trembling but she was _trusting_ him to take care of her.

Embry had never felt so important in all his life.

With his bundle arranged he looked up at where Jacob and Bella were waiting at the door.

"Let's get her home, Emb," Jacob murmured, meeting his eyes.

Even though it was nothing but a turn of phrase, it made Embry's stomach tank for his toes. Swallowing he nodded minutely and followed his Alpha out into the sun.

'

The car ride was the longest ten minutes of his entire fucking life.

He held his bundle close to his chest in the back seat but he couldn't even enjoy these last minutes with her in his arms because she was shivering in pure terror, her gasps pulling at the skin on his neck.

Bella cast reassuring smiles at him every mile or so, but questions and worry were clear in the death grip she had on Jacob's hand. Embry kept his eyes lowered to the miserable creature in his arms but he could feel his Alpha's eyes burning into his skull in the rearview mirror.

Reminding him that all too soon this was all going to be over.

Finally.

_Finally_ they pulled into the two-story house he'd built onto over the years for his mate and Pack. The groan of the parking brake was both the most welcomed and reviled sound he'd ever heard.

Without a word, Jacob brusquely got out of the car. Bella watched him go with a frown and then threw a smile over her shoulder before she turned to a door that was already being opened by her mate.

Jacob stoically helped her out and then opened Embry's door keeping his eyes lowered.

Embry held her close and slid out of the SUV. Jacob's hand came unnecessarily to his elbow to steady him. Even though Embry was wiped, there was no way in the world he'd stumble with such a responsibility in his arms.

"Let me go get everyone out of the house first," Jacob murmured under his breath.

Embry could hear the Pack laughing and talking inside - it had to be somewhere in the early afternoon and the middle of Sunday dinner.

Embry looked up gratefully to find Jacob's eyes glued to the woman clinging to his neck. Pressing his lips together, he closed his eyes soundly for a moment and then turned on his heel and stalked up to the house, danger in his stride.

Bella fell into step at Embry's elbow as he slowly carried his bundle toward the house where voices abruptly silenced. He was glad Jacob wasn't "throwing her to the wolves" right off the bat for several reasons, not the least of which was that he'd get a few more moments with her on his own. With his luck, Collin or Levi would imprint on her.

Or Paul.

Irrational fury raced like napalm through his blood making his stomach muscles cramp in the effort to keep the beast caged. He gasped quietly.

"You okay?" Bella whispered.

Embry gave her a weak smile and nod.

"She's so incredibly beautiful," she continued quietly, her gaze running over the woman in his arms. "I've never seen anyone so-…" She shook her head softly, leaving the predicate hanging because there really weren't any words to do it justice.

"I know," Embry whispered, squeezing her tighter.

"We'll figure it out, Emb," Bella soothed, putting her cool hand on his elbow.

"Okay it's clear," Jacob announced from the porch. "Emily and Kim are waiting in the kitchen if you need 'em Bells."

She nodded up at him as they climbed the steps. "Let's take her upstairs to my bedroom," Bella looked up at Embry like she was including him in the decision. "There's a bathroom and I have all my things."

Embry nodded once as he waited for Bella to go through the door Jacob held open. Embry followed after, ignoring his Alpha's heavy stare.

"Kim, Em, can you help?" she called, and immediately the two women popped out of the kitchen.

Both froze in undisguised shock at the sight of Embry with a woman wrapped in a blanket and curled into his neck.

"Embry found a girl in his shed," Bella told them simply. "We're taking her upstairs to get cleaned up and rest."

Nodding obediently – and shuttering away questions with the press of lips - they jumped into action, following Bella up the stairs first. Embry trailed along after, taking each step carefully as his Alpha silently escorted him at his heel. He paced down the hallway to the master bedroom feeling like he was in a funeral procession even when it was exactly the opposite.

He'd saved this girl's life and while these moments spent with her would – without a doubt – be the best of his life, it was time to let her go on with hers.

Inside the master bedroom, the women hovered at the foot of the huge California king bed as Embry trudged across the rug. The novelty of being in his Alpha's bedroom didn't mean jack shit, he only had eyes for the girl in his arms.

He set her gently on the bed but she rose up after him as he started to straighten, struggling to keep her face pressed in his neck.

"Shh," he murmured, stroking a hand over her head. He pulled back a little more going into a squat in front of her.

Soulful dark eyes darted around the room but boomeranged right back and Embry smiled. "They'll take care of you, Sweetheart," he whispered, brushing a strand of hair back from where it was stuck on her cheek. She turned subtly into his touch and his heart flipped.

"Hey Sweetheart," Bella crooned right at Embry's side.

He looked up in surprise. "It's a good name," she shrugged.

Something about that made him feel insanely happy.

"We'll take care of her," Bella promised as Embry stood to his feet.

Huffing out a sigh, he nodded absently as his eyes washed over the trembling little doe-girl wrapped in blood-stained sheets on his Alpha's bed.

And he turned away.

Or tried to.

He just-… he just _couldn't_.

Bella's hand brushed over his arm. "Emb, _don't worry_," she soothed in that magic whisper she reserved for wolves who were losing their shit. "You'll be right down stairs."

Swallowing, he pushed his hand through his hair.

With superhuman effort, he snapped his eyes closed, and whipped around, stalking across the room.

At two strides, a soft distressed cry had him spinning back, but his Alpha's iron fist clamped around his bicep.

"C'mon man," he murmured, literally dragging him out of the room.

The last thing he saw was a frightened girl ducking around Bella, her round panicked eyes brimming with tears.

Jacob closed the door.

Embry's heart shattered and instinct chewed up the pieces while he stared at the maple wood, contemplating just breaking it down.

His Alpha dragged him around to face him. "Emb, did you i-…"

"I c-can't," he interrupted, shaking his head senselessly. He truly had lost his mind. "_I just can't_."

He couldn't deal with the questions or pronouncements or rebuke. Not right now. Not when he felt like his heart was so frighteningly close to stopping for good.

"Heyyy," Jacob crooned and his hands came up to Embry's jaw, holding him in a firm grip. It was only then he realized he was shaking. "We'll figure it all out, Emb."

Embry's eyes darted manically back and forth between that steady stare. He had no words even if he'd had a coherent thought to communicate in the first place.

Jacob licked his lips and then said slowly, softly, enunciating each word with liquid steel, "_Go downstairs and take a shower and then come to the kitchen and eat_."

Those hands slipped from his face and Embry's body was turning away.

Even while his heart was breaking.

'

Embry took a mechanical shower, washing enough filth from his body that the water ran dark down the drain. He couldn't even contemplate how dirty he was or the ashen face and sunken eyes in the mirror or the heavy sluggishness of his limbs ...because he was in so much _pain_.

His head and heart were duel battle theatres in one bloody war. Images flashed through his mind of demons viciously feeding, draining lives with terror. Of a doe broken and scrabbling in the leaves and his Alpha poised to break its neck. Of a beautiful gentle girl, frightened but finding comfort in his arms.

And that it was all over.

She was with his Pack now and they were going to take care of her and find her home and he was never going to get to touch her again.

He'd just watch from the outside like he always did.

Inside he was falling apart, all the little pieces being pulverized further with each heartbeat, but his body went steadily through the motions of the Order. It was an odd sensation – kind of like trundling downhill in a deep rut in the road. That's the way the Order always was: you could bank left or right with a little strain but as long as you let yourself roll down the middle it was effortless. To jump the track completely was nearly impossible.

Embry didn't have the strength to even try.

Why bother anyway? He _knew_ the score by now.

By the time he'd dressed in borrowed shorts and tee shirt, he was worn out, body, heart and soul.

Embry shuffled into the kitchen where Jacob was pacing a brusque agitated circuit in front of the counter.

He didn't even look up. "Eat," he barked, as he continued wearing a hole in the floor.

The table had been eerily abandoned in the middle of lunch - plates half-eaten, drinks full. It looked like an alien abduction.

Embry obediently sat at his place where a plate stared blankly up at him and reached for the-...

His hand froze in the middle of picking up the platter of sliced roast as his mind flashed back to horrors of night. His stomach was eating itself alive and it smelled _so good_, but the thought of eating flesh disgusted him right now.

He reached for the potatoes instead and listlessly served his plate. Next he picked up a casserole -…

Jacob stalked up behind him and abruptly yanked the dish from his hand with a grunt. Picking up Embry's plate, he started liberally piling on slices of roast then paced down the table and shoveled on turkey and ham.

"You need protein," Jacob growled as he deposited it unceremoniously in front of him. "Eat."

Embry dug in unenthusiastically.

And he hated that at the first bite past his lips, instinct and hunger overtook him - just like the Order had - and he was stuffing food in his face before he'd even swallowed the last mouthful. He inhaled his plate and then was piling on more.

By his third, he finally noticed that Jacob was leaning against the wall across the table, tipping up a bottle of beer while he watched him with intense eyes.

He lowered the bottle and swallowed. "You're eating like a cub," he pronounced cryptically.

Embry's fork stopped midway to his mouth.

"I haven't seen you eat like this since you Phased," Jacob clarified thoughtfully, idly dangling the bottle between two fingers.

Embry didn't know what to say, so he shoved his forkful in his mouth and chewed. He didn't understand it either – sure, he'd walked all night with a deer in his arms, but it shouldn't have taken the toll it did on supernatural stamina.

With a harsh and resetting sniff, Jacob hiked his bottle into his palm and studied the label for a moment. "While you were in the shower, Bella came down," he murmured.

Embry froze mid-chew.

Jacob looked up from under his lashes. "They got her bathed and dressed and she was going to try to get her to eat something," he told him quietly. "She brought her up a plate-…"

Embry choked, his eyes falling automatically to the roast.

"I made sure she just _took vegetarian shit_…" Jacob's voice rose before evaporating as he burst off the wall.

"_FUCK, EMB_!" he roared, raking a hand through his hair as he paced along the table. "I almost _fucking snapped her neck_!"

Chewing another time Embry swallowed his mouthful. A golf ball would have been easier.

"I mean, what the _fucking hell_!" he yelled, pacing with jerking strides before whipping back around and fixing Embry with a tortured stare. "We watched her family get _drained_ by those cock-sucking parasites and _I did nothing_!"

He slammed the beer on the table so hard dishes bounced and liquid sluiced up the top. "_FUCK_!"

Growling, Jacob started pacing again, clawing both hands back through his hair and grabbing it in fists at the crown. "And there's a whole _fuckfest_ of shit that I' gotta work out, but _I just can't get past it_!" he spun around in the middle of the kitchen, teeth gritted and face etched in self-loathing. _"I woulda __killed__ her if it wasn't for you!"_

Embry wiped his mouth absently with the back of his hand as he turned, swinging his legs up over the bench and pushing to his feet. He was feeling much more solid and sane after some nourishment and it was oddly comforting to witness Jacob's emotional meltdown.

Jacob had always been emotional under all that dominion and - the good listener and old friend he was - Jacob used to vent like this often to Embry, even after he'd Phased and become his Alpha.

Until Bella.

Embry found he missed being needed.

"Jake," Embry crossed slowly toward his friend, speaking to the self-doubt and derision he saw in his eyes. "You're a _good_ Alpha. A good _guy_. It's not your fault."

Jacob's breath was heaving as his fists left his hair and slapped down to his thighs in defeat.

"Think about how I feel, I was _there_," he confessed softly. "But we gotta let it go, man. There's no way we coulda known."

Jacob clenched his eyes closed as he huffed a sigh through his nose and then rubbed his face brusquely. "Jezis, Emb," he slapped his palms down and he met Embry's gaze with a pained squint. "_I'm sorry._"

Embry gave him a sad smile. "I forgive you," he whispered. Because he did – _intellectually_. In the dark unexamined recesses of his heart he still wanted to kill him.

Jacob sniffed a humorless laugh with a shake of his head "C'mere," he coughed, pulling Embry in for a one-shoulder hug. "You gotta forgive yourself too, Emb," he murmured as he hit him on the back.

His Alpha pulled back as his hand clamped brusquely onto Embry's jaw. Cocking his head, his sharp eyes took inventory. "You look a _little_ better," he mused under his breath. "But let's talk about all this shit tomorrow, deal?" He released him with two slaps to the cheek.

Embry nodded as he took a step back. At times like this it was like Jacob was both friend and father… and he didn't know what to do with it.

Jacob crossed back to the table. "Look, I gotta talk to the Pack… my dad… _the Council_," he coughed a humorless laugh and grabbed up his beer. He tipped it back and then stared blindly at the refrigerator for a moment.

Embry shoved his hands in his pockets and waited.

Jacob spun around and met his gaze. "But not until we talk," he announced. "We're just gonna take this night, dude." His eyes darted off to the side as footsteps started down the hall upstairs.

Embry's gaze snapped out to the living room.

"It's Bella," Jacob told him – of course knowing the gait of his mate. Embry's eyes still didn't waver from their sentry.

"The girls know something's off, of course," Jacob continued, ambling across the room as he took another sip of beer. "And I know Bells' figured it out but she's not asking questions 'cause she fucking rocks."

Embry smiled absently as he watched Bella cross the landing and come down the last flight of stairs, leaning heavily on the rail.

"She also said the girl's either got a fever or has the same temp thing as us," Jacob murmured, turning and tipping back an absent sip of beer as he watched his mate take the last step.

Having successfully navigated the stairs, Bella looked up and then painted on a smile as she crossed the living room toward them.

"She's sleeping," Bella reported. "And I think she's going to be out for a while," she met Embry's gaze. "She's doing good, Emb. _Really_ good. She learns fast."

Shoving his hand further into his pockets, Embry bit his lip on asking more questions – he wanted to sit her down and _demand_ to know what happened every second of this last hour. But it wasn't his place – she was under Bella's care now.

"Do you want to call the dogs back in?" she smiled up at Jacob who met her halfway.

Leaning down, he took her mouth in a slow and tender kiss. "Yeah, I guess they gotta eat, huh?" he sniffed a laugh as he stroked a finger down her cheek.

Embry turned away from such tenderness.

He wandered absently toward the sink, eyes drifting out the back window. The afternoon clouds had thickened and it was starting to drizzle. Just like it always did.

He felt a whole hell of a lot better after eating, but was still so _unsettled_. He couldn't get his mind off the girl upstairs. In fact, he would happily give twenty years of his life just to go sit on the bed and watch her sleep for five minutes.

And, he was trying. Lord, how he was fucking _trying_.

Trying so hard to steel himself for the inevitable. Tomorrow they were going to talk which meant tonight he was going to go home and wait. He'd volunteer to take the whole night shift to distract himself, except his mind was such a pitiful fucking mess there was no way he was sharing it. Then there'd be Council meetings and Pack and bullshit, all in the way after and-…

"Hey…"

Embry literally jumped at Bella's voice right at his elbow. She touched his arm in a thoughtless gesture of comfort as she leaned against the counter.

"How're you doing, Emb?" she asked quietly, looking up into his eyes.

Embry tore them from hers immediately, letting them list out to the weeping yard. Right now, he didn't want to share his mind with his Pack mates or his eyes with anyone who could read them.

"I'm okay," he whispered, turning more to the sink and letting his blind gaze drop to dishes that needed washing - the perfect prop. Ignoring how rude it was, he turned on the water and started filling the basin, pretending Bella's appraising gaze wasn't creeping up and down his profile.

"I think it's really great what you did," she offered cryptically, taking the hint and turning into the counter to stare out the window. "You should be proud."

Embry nodded once as his hands went through the motion of putting soap on the sponge.

"I know things are hard right now," she continued.

He glanced out of the corner of his eye, trying to discern what _things_ she knew about. She caught the tail of his glance and sniffed a laugh at herself.

"Understatement of the century, this I know," she chuckled softly, keeping her eyes on him as he tucked his chin and pulled out the first dish. "But it's going to work out, Emb," she leaned over the counter trying to capture his eyes. "It might be messy for a while, but it's going to work out."

He glanced at her just because it was the right thing to do, "Thanks."

Things always _did_ work out, didn't they?… just not the way he wanted them to. And it was so dangerous to want.

His ears snatched onto the lifering of footsteps coming down the stairs - welcomed distraction, yes - but also the possibility of more details about the woman upstairs.

"Bella, she's still sleeping," Emily's voice called across the living room.

Turning over her shoulder, she nodded. "Good, I'll go up and take Kim's watch. I just want to get a plate."

Embry closed his eyes as his hands froze for a moment in their scrubbing. Like usual, he was grateful to the ladies in the Pack for taking her in, so to speak, but he wanted to be _part_ of it. Just like Sunday mornings every week, he was relegated to being only a spectator, living vicariously through the dreams he could cobble together.

A hand smoothed down his back and his eyes popped open as he started scrubbing again. "Hang in there, honey," she leaned around for some kind of confirmation from him.

_Hang in there. And cling to what? Yeah, right. _

He glanced at her again with a tight smile and then leaned down to press a kiss to her hairline. "Thanks." He wouldn't call her sweetheart… not anymore.

It seemed to satisfy her somewhat because she did that _switching-it-up_ laugh. "And you don't have to do this," she swatted his arm with a grin. "Just relax. You've had a crappy night."

"This relaxes me," he told her quietly, because it was true. It made him feel like he was _doing something_ - not just waiting around for more handouts.

" 'Kay, Emb," she squeezed his arm again before she turned away.

_So much touching._ Any other day he would have been thrilled, but right now – he was ashamed to admit - it grated on his nerves. He suddenly realized he was irrationally _annoyed_ with Bella. No, annoyed wasn't the right word…

Jealous. Fucking soul-rotting _jealous_.

Blowing a breath from his cheeks, he scrubbed the dish harder.

'

Over the next 20 minutes, the Pack trickled back in and, like someone had only pressed pause, they picked up their forks, conversations and laughter right where they'd left off.

But he could feel the curious stares like needles in his back. Courtesy of Pack mind and loose lips, they all knew about last night by now.

Finally when he'd washed away the last excuse, he had to turn around.

He was unnaturally hungry again, so, sucking it up, he grabbed a beer, plopped himself down beside Quil and served up another plate. Jacob had come back from rounding them all up and presided over the head of the table and along with Sam, they kept a tight rein on the conversation. Kim and Emily took their places beside their mates and joined in.

Embry kept his head tucked and fed his body while his ears voraciously listened to anything that fell over the women's lips, just waiting for some veiled comment or covert emotion to mine for information.

_Nothing_.

The girls were good like that. And Jacob had kept his word too – there were no questions or talk of last night. But his Alpha couldn't control the covert glances cast his way when they thought he wasn't looking. If anything, wolves were nosy bitches.

The next 20 minutes passed like usual: enthusiastic eating, Nina joined the group from some family thing and patrols switched, stupid jokes and lame commentary on sports or cars or some TV show was volleyed over the table.

But then Paul and Seth came off shift.

While the younger wolf immediately wrapped himself around his imprint, Paul jumped into his place across the table and _smirked_. Embry shoveled another bite into his mouth and refused to make eye contact.

His Packmate heartily served himself all while heaping on the stares. When he couldn't stand it anymore Embry stood up, gathering his plate.

"Off to join PETA?" Paul laughed under his breath.

Embry's eyes flicked up like switch blades while a rage-bomb detonated in his chest. Paul quickly lowered his eyes to his plate while his lips oozed up on a gratified side.

Swallowing a knot of fire, Embry stepped over the bench with jerking movements, putting everything he had into _not_ lunging across the table to beat that smirk along with some teeth down his fucking throat.

Embry turned away (the second hardest thing he'd done in his life) and stalked down to the other end of the room. Jacob's gaze darted up to assess the situation but Embry ignored him, pressing himself into the corner of the cabinets near the refrigerator and setting his plate on the counter. He gulped down a hefty draught of beer, trying to douse the flames that were eating him alive inside.

It didn't work.

He drained his bottle and then got another. Flipping the cap off with one thumb, he caught it in his palm while he poured down another half of the bottle down his throat.

"Emb?" Jacob called quietly.

Embry didn't look at him but just shook his head tersely. Thankfully, he didn't push and returned to his meal.

Having lost his appetite, Embry turned his body from the room and leaned against the counter in the corner while he pushed food around on his plate in front of him. He wanted to throw it across the kitchen, but he didn't… because what excuse would he have to hang around otherwise? The dishes were done for now, everyone was eating…

He picked up an orange from the bowl of fruit on the counter and tossed it idly up in the air while he drained his beer and let the conversation behind him blur into white noise. Setting the bottle down, he slid down so he could lean his elbow on the counter and started carefully peeling it into one strip of rind, just for something to do.

When suddenly all conversation stuttered to a halt.

"_Holy shit_," Jacob breathed from the end of the table.

Apple blossoms, rainy forests, spring. Embry's head snapped around to see Bella standing in the doorway with… _her_.

Embry dropped the orange from numb fingers and it went rolling across the counter to the floor as he turned around. _Holy shit_ was right. He'd thought she was beautiful last night, now you could cobble words together in every language and there'd never be enough.

And those huge doe-eyes were locked unwavering across a sea of bodies…

On him.

Wrapped in a white blanket, Bella had her arms around her. "See he's here," she murmured, rubbing her arm soothingly. Bella's gaze darted across the room and met his. "She's asking for you."

_Asking_?

_For him_?

Embry swallowed, pushing off the counter and shoving his hand through his hair, unable to break free of those mesmerizing eyes. He couldn't seem to make his feet move or his lungs work or …anything.

And then she was moving.

Without a glance at Bella, she stepped out of her arms, nose lifting with subtle tips like she was scenting the room. She took one tentative step and then another, the blanket slipping heedlessly from her shoulders.

Embry's heart stopped in his chest.

Dressed in only the cream cotton sundress that hit her mid-thigh, it revealed flawless honey skin and the body of a dancer. She was on the tall side for a girl and the epitome of willowy, with fine collar bones, small breasts, narrow hips and limbs that that were long and lithe. Her hair had been brushed to a thick burnished curtain of sable that hung pencil-straight down her back, clear down to the top of her thighs. It swayed, slow and sensual, behind her as she moved.

If her beauty was inhuman, her movements were more so. Dainty hands splayed at her sides, each cautious step she took into the room was made with a delicate point of bare feet and then flowed into the next, like water made flesh.

For the life of him, he couldn't remember his name.

With gazelle-light steps, she skirted the kitchen with fluid grace, casting skittish glances and a spell of silence over the table. Every last person at it was openly gaping, but Embry didn't notice. How could he when she turned and swallowed him down endless eyes?

Her long dark lashes fluttered with a blink and a bow russet mouth curved softly. Embry had no control of his face too answer. Her step quickened and she veritably danced the rest of the way, her body and hair swaying in hypnotic contrast like a liquid samba.

She stopped right in front of him, smiling freely like he was her favorite person in the world, and Embry shoved his hands into his pockets in a desperate attempt to keep from snapping her into craving arms.

If he did, he'd never let her go.

Her head tipped smoothly to the side as she lifted her chin toward him like a petition. Drowning in quiet eyes a smile dusted over his lips as he leaned down so she could touch his nose with hers.

Unlike other times though, she didn't pull away but just lazily rubbed back and forth, as light and gentle as a breath. But still, just the brush of her skin seemed to make his whole body pour into toes, his heart slowing from its sprint to an intoxicated stagger.

"Emmie," she sighed, her breath wafting sweet over his face. Then, hands clasping under her chin, she melted against him.

Embry blinked. Once. And a bunch more times after that.

Pulling his hands from his pockets, he slowly, tentatively wrapped his arms around her.

God, her hair was so impossibly soft, just like her skin and the fur of her other form. Embry _loved_ soft things.

His arms wrapped a little tighter and she pressed her cheek to his chest with the sweetest little sound in her throat.

"Say it again."

He heard the words before he realized he'd spoken.

She picked up her head, looking up at him with a pucker between delicate brows. He couldn't help but smile.

One hand left her back and he pointed to his chest. "Me?"

Understanding sparkled in her eyes, followed by pleasure.

"Emmie."

Embry's eyes fluttered closed while his ear savored the sound and his mind carefully molded it into memory. Her voice was like moonlight: crystal tones with soft breathy edges.

She nestled back against him and he wrapped her closer, palms gently squeezing her delicate body under the thick wash of hair. She came up to his chin and it was the perfect height for cheek-resting - like Bella had said, she was warm in _his_ arms, like human touch had felt like pre-Phase.

It was just what he'd always wanted.

"Emb, she hasn't eaten yet."

The words more than the voice pulled him up out of a whirlpool reverie so overwhelming only concern for her could tug him free.

Picking up a head that weight a hundred pounds he turned to find Bella standing a few feet away with her mate towering behind her. Embry blinked, straightening as it started to filter back into his addled brain exactly where he was.

And that Jacob was valiantly trying to shield them from the table.

His Alpha's eyes were intense under that heavy brow but there was also the softest curve playing on his lips.

"Why don't you see if you can get her to eat?" Bella smiled gently.

Nodding, Embry rubbed his palms over her back. " 'You want some food, Sweetheart?" he murmured.

She picked her head up from his chest and shocked him with a nod.

His face cracked in a smile of pride – she _was_ a fast learner. She must already be picking out words. With a final caress, he forced his hands to leave her and she sidestepped, casting a timorous glance at Jacob.

Embry reflexively turned his body between them meeting his Alpha's gaze - the smile had been ironed into a thin press of lips. Embry knew he was still battling self-blame – like he was himself – but she was afraid of him and, without question, her feelings came first.

Bella took a fearless step into the tension between the two wolves. "Why don't you two eat in the living room," she suggested with a meaningful lift of her brow.

Embry nodded gratefully and turned…

To find bright eyes and two hands offering up the orange from the floor. He smiled softly and took it, "Thank you."

She looked pleased as she stepped into his side, slipping both hands around his bicep.

"I'll bring her a plate," Bella told him.

With a grateful nod, Embry palmed the orange and led her along the counter while she pressed into his side, hiding behind his shoulder as she cast timid glances at a table that was silently pretending to eat. Jacob flanked him like a barrier. Embry had always loved them both but in that moment, when his Alpha and mate were helping him carve out just a little more time with this woman, they earned an entirely different level of devotion.

He turned at the doorway and met Jacob's sober eyes. "Thank you," he mouthed the words.

His Alpha nodded curtly and turned back to his Pack.

Gaze falling to the chestnut head leaning against his shoulder, he led her into the living room and to the couch. She looked up, and he pressed a kiss to her hairline before collapsing in the corner of the sofa while he listened to the hushed conversation in the kitchen.

"_Who is she?"_

"_Her name's Sweetheart,"_ Jacob whispered. _"She's Bella's guest and that's all you need to know right now."_

At her new name, the girl's eyes darted toward the kitchen as she absently pulled the thick fall of silk over one shoulder. She must have the same sensitive hearing that they did.

"_What kind of name is-…"_ Quil began.

"_No questions,"_ Jacob bit out curtly, a heated Order wrapping it up tight. _"Paul, report on the northern border..."_

Embry stopped paying attention as a beautiful creature melted gracefully down beside him. She turned to him expectantly as she pushed away the hair spilling into her lap off to the side.

With a smile, he tossed the orange up once, and brought it down to his lap to finish the peeling. Her attention was riveted on his hands, like it was the most fascinating thing she'd ever seen.

He looked up from under his lashes. "Orange," he told her quietly, as his fingers continued to deftly strip the fruit into a coil of rind.

She met his eyes.

"Orange," he repeated slowly.

A pink tongue skated over her lip and his balls lit on fire. He shut that shit down with a clench of jaw.

"Aw-wan," she tried.

He smiled and said it again, enunciating carefully. "Or-an-ge."

"Orranshh," she repeated with an earnest furrow to her brow.

Grinning, he nodded, returning his eyes to the fruit and pulling free the last of the peel. He shaped it back into a ball and then let it fall from two fingers into a bouncing orange coil.

She laughed softly – it was such a sparkling innocent sound that he felt ashamed of the way it made his dick twitch. Ignoring his wayward body, he handed her the peel and she took it, bouncing it up and down like a yoyo with a smile a mile wide.

Sniffing a laugh, Embry tucked his chin and pried a thumb into the middle of the fruit, pulling apart the wedges. He stripped a few lingering white peels from a slice and handed it to her, watching her out of the corner of his eye. She glanced at him almost shyly and then carefully curled the peel back into a ball, set it on a honeyed thigh and took the piece.

Embry leaned back, propping one elbow on the armrest, and the other on the back of the couch, turning toward her. He pulled several slices free at once and popped them in his mouth, chewing on one side of a smile.

Her eyes falling to the slice of orange, she brought it up and sniffed delicately, and then took a tentative bite. She blinked, eyes widening in ingenuous surprise at the taste as she rolled it around her mouth and then chewed slowly.

"Do you like it?" Embry asked, popping another piece past his lips.

She looked up at him, still chewing her bite like she didn't know what to make of it.

Embry raised his brow and nodded in a mime of the meaning. "Like it?" Then he shook his head, wrinkling one side of his nose. "Don't like it."

She nodded slowly, a smile appearing on her lips as she swallowed. She took another nibble as both their gazes darted up to the women entering the room.

Bella was holding two plates in her hand and was followed by a smiling Emily, Kim and Nina.

"Hey you two," she greeted.

The girl continued chewing as she silently watched Bella cross toward her. She handed one of the plates to Embry and then sat down on the other side.

"How are you doing Sweetheart?" she asked, raising a brow with a prompting nod.

The girl nodded as she scooted closer to Embry, putting a hand on his thigh that made every nerve in his body jump.

"You're glad to see Embry again, huh?" she smiled, her eyes darting up to meet his.

"Emmie," she repeated, turning those bewitching eyes back on him. Just a glance from her and he was choking on his orange. He tried to subtly clear his throat.

"I'm Nina," Seth's mate spoke up as she sat down the couch across from them and the coffee table.

The girl gifted her with a bright smile.

Setting the rest of the orange on his thigh, he offered her the food. " 'You wanna try some of this?" he asked her quietly.

She turned back to him, eyeing the plate filled with salad, potato and some kind of broccoli cheese thing.

"Give me the orange peel," he tipped his chin toward the wilting ball on her leg and held out his hand.

She put it in his palm and he handed her the plate. Leaning forward he set the peel on the coffee table and sat back in the corner. She was now sitting ramrod straight and holding the plate in two palms, looking a little bit overwhelmed.

Sniffing a laugh he propped an arm over the back of the couch and gently stroked over the crown of her head. She looked up into his eyes and he ghosted a reassuring wink as he kept brushing his fingers slowly over her hair. Her lips spreading in a smile, she melted back against the couch and set the plate on her thighs.

Her gaze darted over the other four women in the room who were eating and watching silently. They were patient, just like Embry. The girl needed the space to get her bearings and they all knew it.

Her eyes flitted from one woman to the next and finally to Bella who was just bringing her fork and a potato to her lips. "Mmm," she wiggled her brows.

The girl giggled and Embry closed his eyes as the sound washed through his body in a visceral tingle.

He felt her settle into the couch a little more and when he opened his eyes again, she was putting the fork into her hand, watching at the way Bella held hers and then rearranging her grip.

Embry continued to stroke lightly over her hair while she awkwardly speared a potato and then glanced at him. He nodded with a smile and she brought it to her lips, taking a nibbling bite.

And so began the most awesome afternoon of his life.

He tried to commit every detail to memory: the way her hair felt under his fingertips, her smooth features and smoother skin, her delicate collarbones and the way her breath fluttered in the hollow of her throat, the warmth of her thigh along his. All while he catalogued every expression that flitted over her open-book face at each new taste that passed her luscious lips.

The women around them kept up light conversation - occasionally asking her if she liked this or that – but for the most part, the two of them just sat in their corner and listened. Even though he was still sitting on the quiet outskirts of the world, for the first time in his life, Embry didn't feel alone.

The only problem was that she wanted to keep feeding him.

Embry told her he'd eaten, but she didn't seem to understand so finally he picked up the rest of the orange and ate it at an ungodly slow rate for a wolf. Voraciously devouring every second he got to spend with her filled a deeper hunger but stoked a more primal one still.

His physical reaction to her disturbed him – even though he supposed it was natural for a healthy unimprinted male when she looked like she did. She was nothing but an innocent who was looking to him to protect her in unfamiliar territory before she returned to her own. She didn't need his lust getting in the way - but there was simply nothing he could do about his mutinous body.

But the pain was certainly worth the pleasure. Even though he was burning to cinder where he sat, steeping in a fiery lake of desire, it was worth every second of the torture. Each bite of food, each glance, each smile – paid the cost of restraint a million times over.

Embry blinked out of his haze as those guileless eyes turned toward him, offering him up a forkful of casserole.

"Eat, Emmie," she smiled uncertainly, obviously wondering if she'd gotten it right.

Embry's grin broke his face as he sat up more. "Sweetheart, that's awesome," he whispered, leaning in to kiss her temple.

He pulled back but her hand on his thigh stopped him cold and those soulful eyes, framed by a curling fringe of lash, so close and yawning...

They set his blood on fire.

Moist russet lips curved in a pastel smile. "Emmie," she whispered slowly, caressing his name with her life-breath.

_Holy shit. He'd do _anything_ if that voice asked it._

His mouth more kind of fell open and she took the opportunity to push the forkful of whatever the hell it was into it. Spellbound by those eyes, he automatically closed his lips and she slowly pulled the fork past them. It was almost sensual.

Or maybe it was.

Because then she was leaning up toward him, her breath quick and warm over his face. She closed her eyes, lashes nestling against her cheeks and rubbed her nose over his, sensuous and gentle. It was almost erotic.

Or maybe it was.

Because then she whispered his name over his lips. "Mm…Emmie." He was imagining that sigh as he pushed into her body, joining with her flesh, anchoring his soul deep in her womb, wrapping her in his sheltering arms…

And never letting go again.

Cool air rushed in, sucking that sweet breath away with it and Embry opened heavy lids over eyes that were swimming. And the most beautiful creature known to man was blessing him with sparkling eyes and a smile.

She giggled – most definitely at his expense. And he didn't give a shit because he could listen to that sound for hours.

She tucked her chin, with just the subtlest sunrise blush. "Emmie," she laughed softly to herself, as she returned to her plate and speared a salad green. She brought it to her mouth, glancing at where Embry was still not sure what had hit him.

Smothering a smile with a green, she chewed while she watched him straighten, blinking like a fool. Oh yeah, he had something in his mouth…. He swallowed whatever the hell it was without chewing with an audible gulp.

Leaning back against the couch, Embry rubbed a palm down his face and then pushed it through his hair, trying to get some semblance of sanity back. It wasn't very easy when three-fourths of all the blood in his body was throbbing in his crotch.

"Emb, it sounds like they're doing dessert."

Embry's gaze snapped out to where Bella was smothering a smile. "Why don't you go get some while it lasts."

He nodded dumbly. Yeah, he needed to clear his head for a moment and he certainly didn't think he'd survive without bursting something if she fed him again.

Smoothing a hand over her head, Embry stood, shoving his hands into his pockets and subtly trying to adjust the "situation."

"Emmie?"

He turned back to find worried eyes staring up at him.

"Sweetheart," Bella put a hand on her arm. "He'll be back." She motioned to the kitchen and then back again.

Nodding she looked back up and he smiled reassuringly and then skirted around the table, ignoring his blush as the other women graciously ignored the hard-on that was as good as obvious in a borrowed pair of shorts and tee shirt. It was humiliating and confusing and disturbing, but he was used to that by now.

He made a detour to the bathroom down the hall to get himself together before he ran the gauntlet in the kitchen. Jacob had done an awesome job of keeping the Pack in line this afternoon, but it had to be some kind of world record of trips to the bathroom by wolves. They weren't very subtle about spying on the group of women… and Embry.

Leaning over the sink, he splashed cold water on his face and braced his hands on the basin, letting it dribble away while he calmed his body.

_This was so, so not good. _

He was going to have to take a million cold showers tonight. And just the thought of his messy, mildew-stained bathroom… and his mother… made him deeply depressed.

But it did work like a charm for his little problem downstairs.

Embry didn't know how he was going to survive this, but figuring out how – or if - was going to have to wait. He had precious little time with the woman in the other room and he wasn't going to waste a second of it.

Any more than he already had.

Squeegeeing the rest of the water from his face, he pulled open the door and headed for the kitchen. His eyes snapped like a magnet to the girl sitting on the couch, listening to Bella with an intent furrow to her brow.

"Sah-wad… sahl-wad," she tried… and then her eyes found Embry.

They were like a fucking taser – making his heart race and muscles jump like he'd been electrocuted.

But then she _smiled_.

_God, he was so royally screwed. _

Tucking his chin, he pulled a hand out of his pocket to give her a little wave of his fingers as he passed back toward the kitchen.

He was so lost in maelstrom thoughts and questions, he didn't even notice all the stares as he crossed to the counter where the dessert was laid out. The kitchen was in the chaos stages of post-meal with wolves helping to clean up, some still eating, and Sam and Jacob sitting out back on the porch drinking beers and talking shop.

He kept his head tucked as he grabbed a regular-sized plate, chipped and worn from use, and started down the dessert line. There were brownies, store bought cookies, some melting ice cream… and some kind of giant sheet cake in honor of Brady's imprint (of course).

It didn't bother him like it usually would because he was so focused on getting some of everything so she could taste it all. He was pretty sure she'd never had sweets before and he was looking forward to her reaction.

Embry was so distracted by high-flying anticipation and tanking thoughts that he didn't notice Paul until he slammed into his side. The knife in Embry's hand slung cake across the cabinets.

Baring teeth, he snarled, "You're cleaning that up."

Paul laughed, leaning back against the counter and tipping back a swig of beer. "Cause you're too busy playing _hostess_?"

"_Fuck off_, Paul," Embry growled low, as he sliced the hell out of the cake with harsh chops.

"Oh, we're _testy_ today," he chuckled turning with a leer and propping his elbow on the counter. "A little _frustrated_? Give it up, Call. That girl's _gorgeous_ and _so_ fucking out of your league..." he coughed a laugh. "She's just enjoying girl-time with Bella's pussy posse - which includes you."

Blood pressure rising, Embry ground his teeth together as he ferried the cake roughly to his plate. Grabbing a clawful of cookies, he decided to fuck the rest - he picked his plate up off the counter with a hand that shook.

"Hey, maybe I should step up to bat though," Paul murmured out of the corner of a smirk.

Embry spun on his heel and stalked across the kitchen, muscles jerking and shuddering.

"Because you know what they say…" Paul laughed softly behind him. "It's the quiet ones that suck good cock."

Embry exploded.

He threw his plate across the room and before it had shattered on the wall, he'd spun around and driven his fist through Paul's face. The force snapped it around and Embry took that opportunity to grab his shoulders and slam his knee into his gut.

Doubling over with his grunt, still Paul's hands snapped up to grapple with his shoulders. With a roar, he threw Embry across the kitchen and into the refrigerator with a crash. With the ricochet of bruising impact, he lunged into a leaping roundhouse kick that caught Paul square in the solar plexus. The force threw him across the room and into the opposite sheetrock wall.

Teeth bared and his growl hashing foam through them, Embry charged across the room ignoring the Pack gleefully backed into the sidelines.

Gasping from the chest blow, Paul was sliding down the wall, plaster raining over him.

_Good, it would make it easier to kill him. _

Jacob appeared in the back doorway three feet away from his victim. "**Embry S-**!"

Eyes never leaving his prey, Embry jumped into a savage side kick that landed square in Jacob's gut and sent him flying backwards, splintering the screen door as he was thrown onto the porch.

"You're dead, mutherfucker," Embry ground out.

But Paul had recovered and threw a right hook to Embry's jaw, making him stumble back. "You think you got a chance in hell?" he snarled as he threw another punch.

Embry went with the momentum this time, using the energy to launch a spinning kick that caught Paul in side. Leaping on his loss of balance he swung a fist in the opposite direction as his stumble, increasing the impact so it threw him back through the door.

Embry chased him down, throwing punch after punch, the sound of dull thuds and Paul's grunts pockmarking the afternoon. A lifetime of rage had been unleashed and it was burning him alive.

"Embry **STOP**!" Jacob roared.

The order rolled right over him as Embry thrust himself out of a grand-canyon track and into the acid lake - the cost of defying an Order. He welcomed the pain.

_Bring it fucking on._

He was sick of having nothing, sick of waiting and scraps, sick of giving and getting nothing. Now _he_ had something to lose and there was not chance in fucking hell he was going to let it go without a fight.

With a guttural growl, he swung at Paul but his prey crouched, shoving himself into Embry's body and wrestling him to the ground.

Locked in a grapple, the two men tumbled down the stairs and into the rainy yard, grunting and growling.

He felt the man over him start to shift and he snapped his legs up in the split-second window mid-transformation. With a vicious kick to the hybrid beast, it went flying over his head.

Embry rolled over and up to four paws.

The grey wolf was stalking toward him, ears back and teeth bared. Embry snarled, hate drizzling from his muzzle as they prowled around each other.

Muzzle peeling back, he sprang and Paul met him half way. The impact had them clawing up onto hind paws. Savage barking snarls ripped through the afternoon as the two animals tumbled down into a mauling flurry of fur and fang.

Finally Embry got an opening and sunk his teeth deep into Paul's shoulder. The grey wolf yelped in pain, twisting away and tearing flesh.

Embry crouched low, as Paul tumbled back to four paws, stark crimson oozing over silver fur.

"Jake!" Bella's voice from the house and the sound of mewling wails sliced through the red haze.

Embry whipped around just in time to see the most beautiful and gentle creature in the world wiggle free from the women's hands and push out on the porch.

Tears streaming down her face and hands at her mouth, her frantic eyes scanned the men frozen on the lawn until they locked with his.

Her face inflated in terror and Embry quickly reared up into human form.

It only made things worse.

With a keening wail she ran into a lightning dive off the porch. Mid-air she shimmered, the sleek form of a girl transforming with rippling grace and the rip of seams.

And a lissome doe landed on light hooves in the grass.

She sprang, nimble and lithe, in lightning hopscotch leaps across the yard, bounding over rock and around trees to be swallowed by the forest.

The yard was stunned into silence.

For several seconds.

"Wow, you guys are gonna have some fucked up kids."

Embry whipped around and slammed a sledgehammer fist into Quil's face.

And then he charged Paul.

Now human and shocked clear on his ass, he was still staring off into the woods, his torn bloody shoulder forgotten.

"**You made her leave**!" Embry bellowed, pouncing on him with bared teeth. He only got in a single punch before he was dragged off by iron fists. Embry spun around swinging.

Jacob socked him in the face.

Embry stumbled back and then lurched forward with a snarl.

Jacob punched him again...

So hard his head whipped around brought his body with it as he fell to the ground on his stomach. Blood pouring over the grass, he scrabbling up to hands and knees.

"**Stay down**!" Jacob barked.

Embry pushed against the command.

And suddenly he was being slammed back down by a knee between his shoulder blades. He fell with a grunt, all the air forced out of his lungs by the weight on his back. A hand fisted in his hair and yanked his head back.

Jacob's face appeared in his periphery. "_Stay down_," he crooned, sleek like velvet and razors.

Embry ground the words out like gravel, "_I'm sick of staying down_."

Jacob cocked his head as his brows pushed together. "Not like that, Emb," his voice softened. "You're out of control. Now let me get things started to find her, 'kay?"

That weight was cautiously lifted from his back but Embry didn't have any fight left. He'd lost her.

"Sam, get four wolves to pace the valleys on the borders. If they see her, don't engage but herd her back on our lands. Keep Levi here to listen to reports from the runners. Paul, go with Bella. Everyone else, get your cells, we track on foot…"

A sucking pressure making his chest feel concave, Embry slowly pushed up from the ground, sitting up clumsily and hanging his head as warm blood trickled down his chest from his face.

He wished he could bleed out.

"Emb," Jacob whispered, kneeling down in front of him.

He didn't have the strength to lift his head.

Jacob's hands slipped to his jaw and he did it for him. "Emb, look at me."

Embry squeezed his eyes closed tighter, but why fight anymore? He opened them in defeat to Jacob's concerned gaze.

"Now lemme ask one question," Jacob murmured. "Did you imprint?"

Brows furrowing he coughed a bitter laugh. "Nothing's ever been mine," his eyes closed.

"Oh God, Emb. You didn't know?" Jacob shook him gently.

Embry opened his eyes again – he had no words. He was so fucking torn up inside, he couldn't-...

"Tell me about her eyes," he whispered.

Embry hadn't cried in years but suddenly his nose was burning. He licked his lips slowly as his eyes fluttered closed on the memory.

"Emb?"

His swallow hurt his throat like he'd been screaming for years. Opening eyes that were filling with tears, his voice squeezed past his heart up the back of this throat. "They're _so beautiful_, Jake."

And then he broke.

Hoarse fallow sobs bubbled up from somewhere dark and deep, shaking his shoulders while they pushed salty despair over his bloody face. He gave into it, the sadness, the loneliness, the grief while Jacob pulled him in.

Arms heavy at his sides, body limp and numb, he sobbed piteously into his Alpha's shoulder.

"You _imprinted_, Emb. She's yours," Jacob whispered in his ear. "And we're gonna find her."

'

* * *

'

_Review if you like._


	3. Chap 3

Sorry for the delay - I know this chap's too long but didn't feel like cutting it.

'

In spite of first impressions, this fic isn't driven by my usual angst. But it's an odd little story from the recesses of my crazy mind and I'm wondering if it's an enjoyable, if not a shamelessly sappy, fairytale or if I should nix. Let me know what you think.

'

'

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy.

'

**'**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

* * *

'

"_Bring him home, J-Jake,"_ Bella wept into the phone, the hitching soggy words clinging to the back of her throat.

Jacob _hated_ to hear her cry.

"_Make__ him c-come. He can live with us as long as he w-wants."_

"Honey," Jacob murmured into the cell. "I'm not going to _Order_ him…"

"_Wh-why?"_ she hiccupped. _"Why, Jake!"_

"Shh," he soothed. "It's not a good idea right now."

What he didn't say – what he didn't want to say to Bella or within hearing of his wolf – was that he was afraid that if he gave Embry an Order, it would break him for good. He was teetering dangerously on the edge as it was – Jacob could see it clearly.

_Now._

He glanced over his shoulder at his wolf, slumped to the leaves by an old oak tree while he clutched a cotton sundress to his chest.

Jacob was ashamed of himself – he'd been so focused on being a good Alpha, he'd been a terrible friend. Looking back, it was around the time that Bella moved home that he'd started inadvertently turning his back on his childhood friend.

Now he knew at what price.

_Now._

Like Bella did so well, while she was closing up Paul's wounds she'd gotten him to open up a little about what was going on with him and Embry.

And it was bad.

Paul's jealousy and acting out was simple enough to take care of: he was an externalizer who made his problems everyone else's. But Embry had been hoarding all of his to himself. He'd masterfully hid from everyone who wanted to look the other way – which was everyone - just how fucked up everything was with his mom and he'd been suffering for a long time now…

While it slowly chewed up that gentle heart.

"Honey," Jacob soothed the pitiful sobs still bubbling up on the other end of the line. "Lemme see what I can do, okay Bells?"

God, he _fucking_ _hated_ to hear her cry.

Bella sniffled miserably. "O-okay," she whimpered.

"Try to rest a little," he crooned into the phone. "Emily's still there?"

"Yeah," she squeaked.

"Good. Everything will be okay," he shamelessly laced the words with velvet power. "I'll call you back soon."

"Love you," she whispered.

"Love you more, Bells."

That earned a little cough-laugh of denial. His lips curved in reflex as he clicked the phone off along with all his empty reassurances.

And turned back to cold hard reality.

Jacob wasn't used to this feeling: hopelessness.

Right now he felt like a total failure. He _hated_ it.

Jacob knew that he'd been bitch-slapped with a hand that wasn't fair - like all of them - and that he'd worked his ass off to get his Pack through shit that no ordinary 20-something should have to dream of. He'd borne his duty with natural optimism and practiced skill at every turn.

He _lived_ to fix things: cars, people, problems… it didn't matter.

_Everything_ could be fixed.

But turning around to the man slumped over in a defeated heap, shoulders caved under the weight of years of burden, he had to admit: he didn't know if he could fix this.

And he _hated_ being a liar.

He'd told Embry things would work out, but it was like the doe-girl had vanished into thin air. Starting at the yard they'd caught her scent and followed it, but as small and quick as she was – along with the rain and maybe other magic still – it seemed to evaporate leaving no trail they could follow.

It was past midnight now with hope burning down past the quick and into the wee hours, and they'd combed through every square mile of their territory in one form or another. Eventually Jacob had given the order to Phase so they could cover more ground.

_Nothing._

As the night wore on, he watched Embry wear down right before his eyes. While the rest of his Pack ran as the wolf, Embry hadn't even had the strength to Phase. Both wolf and man were mourning.

Jacob was so incredibly fucking glad that Alpha's didn't imprint, because he didn't know how he could have done his job (or kept his shit together) with the supernatural weight that was bowing those shoulders past their breaking point.

He could barely hold it together knowing his mate was home crying on someone else's shoulder.

Jacob strode toward the man crumpled against a tree, with no strength left to hold up his own head. It _physically_ hurt to see him like this.

Jacob was furious with himself for taking him for granted.

When you were running a Pack, negotiating with bloodsuckers and waging wars, dealing with a mate he adored and the guilt that he'd gotten her pregnant before he could legally drink (and he _had_ known what he was doing… it was another long story) it was the _squeaky wheel_ that got the grease.

Like Paul.

It was the quiet ones...

Jacob raked his hands through his hair as he paced toward the wolf, panting raggedly like his lungs were fighting his heart to keep drawing breath.

How could he have been this stupid? Not only as a friend, but as _Alpha_?

In his role, Jacob had to be a cutthroat mercenary and he knew good and well the assets and weaknesses of his men. While other wolves excelled in one area and failed in another, Embry did _everything_ well. And paired with any wolf, he'd make them better. He seamlessly filled in the weakness around him, he had the strength to lead and the wisdom to follow and he knew how to lead by following too all while quietly putting the needs of the Pack before his own.

But, make no mistake, at any threat he never thought twice before stepping up to use his quiet strength to drive in a homerun whose focus was always winning the game.

As painful as it was to watch the fight yesterday, it would do a lot to make the Pack understand and respect Embry: when he focused his body, mind and heart, he could bring even their most aggressive offensive to his knees.

Other dominants (like Paul) didn't really understand that Embry was not a submissive… he was _balanced_. And in the hormone-driven, crazy-making cocktail that was his raging ragtag mothafuckin' pack of wolves, having someone like Embry was priceless.

He was unofficial Second all while never needing the accolades to do the job. He was savagely caring, unfailingly kind, ruthlessly loyal and he gave generously without expecting anything ever in return. Bella could psycho-analyze anyone in a second flat, but Embry was 230lbs of pure unfettered intuition with the sharp mind and physical control to be a versatile and potent asset in any war.

It's what made Embry, without a doubt, the most invaluable of the Pack.

But now look at him.

_Now._

Jacob squatted beside the man, gasping quietly in the leaves. Head bowed, his body was trembling as he held one of Bella's dresses to a chest that was now stained by his own blood. Jacob had been a fucking careless leader and his best asset had finally shattered under the weight of quietly bearing his burdens for too long alone.

"Emb," he whispered, reaching a hand out to that shoulder. The wolf didn't even flinch.

"Hey, man," he breathed reaching in to that bowed head and tipping it up. He grimaced at the bruises that still mottled his face. A beat-down by his Alpha naturally took longer to heal and it was the first time he'd ever had to lay a hand on this wolf.

Jacob vowed it would be the last too.

"Emb?" he murmured, gently shaking his ruined face. "Look at me."

Swollen eyes struggled to open under the gentle compulsion.

"Let's get you back to the house," he whispered as bloodshot eyes listed over his face. "You need to eat."

To make matters worse, on top of the emotionality of losing his imprint something was drawing unnaturally on his supernatural strength. Jacob didn't have the bandwidth for wild guesses – not right now. But he could have sworn the man had grown another inch overnight.

Embry licked chapped lips as his eyes swam into focus. "No," he rasped.

Jacob released a slow shaking breath as he took careful inventory.

Like he _hadn't_ said aloud, he was afraid that an Order would be the straw that broke this strong back. He needed to be both listened to _and_ heard and, above all, his self-determination needed to be respected.

Now.

Always.

Jacob had been doing a shitty job with that.

But suddenly it was clear. 'Clear as fucking crystal and he hated that hindsight was such a bitch. Objects in the mirror were always closer than they appeared…

But Jacob had grown enough over the years not to waste valuable resources on self-derision and regret.

"Okay," he nodded. "You wanna go back to your house and rest? I'll bring over some food."

Embry didn't answer, but suddenly his body lunged awkwardly forward. Jacob tried to help him up, but the wolf roughly shook him off as he careened in an ungainly stagger. He fell into the tree, catching himself heavily on a heedless shoulder.

Jacob stood back uncomfortably as his wolf panted against the rough bark for a moment, looking like the patron saint of suffering under the insultingly bright full moon. With a little sound somewhere between a grunt and a groan, he pushed off the tree and stumbled forward, still clutching the dress in a ball to his chest.

It broke his heart.

_Oh my God,_ Jacob needed Bella.

He needed to just feel the comfort of her arms around him – he wanted to pull this phone out of his pocket and sob like a fucking baby until she told him some kind of bullshit that would make this okay. Jacob couldn't even bear to _watch_ this pain… especially knowing he'd turned his back on it for so long.

Well he needed to man up: this was his fucking penance. Never had he hated being an Alpha more.

Limbs stiff and awkward and shoulders caved like an old man – or simply one with nothing left - Embry staggered off in the direction of his house. Trudging like the one-man army he'd been for too long.

It was utter devastation that made Jacob shamelessly plead, "Emb, _please_ let me help you."

Embry sniffed a harsh laugh – bitter and dark and nothing like any sound he'd ever heard over those lips. But then a hand clapped down on Jacob's shoulder. He staggered slightly under weight as he glanced at his friend. Eyes blearily focused on the next step, Embry's mouth was hitched up on one side in a sneer that looked frightening.

Jacob bore the weight gladly, leaning into his side as he limped along through the forest.

There were miles of silence and far too much space to contemplate despair as they stumbled back toward town. The wind whispered through the trees under a pregnant moon and every now and then a wolf would raise its voice to the sky.

Reporting… _nothing_.

Finally they waded through the icy waters of the stream behind Embry's run-down house and up the embankment toward the scruffy yard peppered with junk.

For the first time in his life, Jacob didn't know what to say but he _knew_ he needed to say something. In the house he could hear the TV rambling on over the sound of slurred laughter – a man and a woman obviously hammered off their asses.

He was _afraid_ to leave Embry alone in this hell. How the fuck had he left him here so long?

"Emb, can I stay?" Jacob asked quietly.

Embry's head jerked up in an unexpected reaction that made Jacob jump. His worried eyes darted to the man at his side as he pushed so roughly away that Jacob stumbled.

Embry's heavy footsteps quickened in more of a controlled fall as he lurched across the yard toward the shed. Blinking in confusion, Jacob watched as he hastened to the door, catching himself against the worn frame as he pushed it open.

But now… _now_ Jacob could hear it, quiet and barely audible to even their ears over the sounds of the house: hitching gasps and a racing heartbeat.

He was jogging after him before he knew what he was doing.

Jacob pushed the door open and moonlight washed over the scene of Embry, fallen to his knees beside a filthy bare mattress.

And a naked girl with matted hair, curled up and sobbing in the corner.

"Sweetheart," Embry croaked.

The girl peeked around her shoulder with eyes swollen with tears.

Embry's body shook uncontrollably as he sat hunched before her, waiting for her judgment.

He didn't have to wait long.

"E-Emmie," she whimpered, turning and throwing herself across the mattress.

With a sob, Embry's arms wrapped around her, pulling her to his chest.

Jacob had to turn away.

Biting his lip, he pressed his knuckle to this mouth to hold in too many emotions to bother naming while the sound of girl weeping spilled over a man's hitching gasps.

Shit, Jacob never cried but suddenly his eyes were burning.

And his arms were aching for his own mate. He leaned his shoulder against the doorframe while he stared out into the dark yard and listened to human sorrow behind him… along with a soothing lupine rumble.

Jacob had never been much the praying type but he sent up a shitload into the moonlight to anyone who'd listen that night. He felt weak in the knees and like someone had melted all his bones into a molten puddle of relief in the pit of his stomach. It was the most amazing feeling he'd had since he'd first laid his cheek on Bella's stomach and heard their baby's heartbeat.

Bella. Jacob _needed_ Bella.

Yanking out his phone from his back pocket, he quickly texted her and even added one of those stupid smile faces at the end.

Things were far from fixed but suddenly Jacob had something to work with. If it was the last thing he did, he was going to find a way to make this right.

The phone buzzed in his hand and behind him a little squeak of fear made him whip over his shoulder. Arms wrapped around Embry's neck, the girl's eyes were trained on him, liquid and wide with fear. Embry had murder clearly etched into his battered face.

Jacob offered him a weak smile. "Bella," he whispered to the girl – apology and an explanation he hoped she understood. "She wants you to come home, Sweetheart."

She turned back to Embry and those huge innocent eyes swept back to his. At least his answering smile wiped the homicide off his face.

A trembling hand reached up to Embry's bruised cheek like she was just seeing it for the first time and her brow furrowed. She ghosted fingertips over the damage, her eyes inflating with horror as a distressed mewl rose in the back of her throat.

"It's okay," Embry whispered with a dismissive shake of his head. Her fingers smoothed over his hair and then she leaned up and touched her nose to his, before turning back to pin Jacob with eyes that gutted him with a single disbelieving blink.

Like she _knew_.

Piled onto the shame of last night, it was more than he could take. Rubbing a hand down his face he mumbled into his palm. "I'll wait outside."

Folding around the doorframe, Jacob paced out under an unforgiving moon that put all his guilt on blinding display. Turning the phone buzzer off, he sent a sickeningly whiny text to Bella, just searching for some kind of comfort. _'She's still scared of me.'_

Staring at the screen he listened to the soft sounds of the couple behind him set against the backdrop of hopeless cackling laughter from the house.

"_Shh… it's okay, Sweetheart,"_ Embry whispered from the shed. _"Put this on…the tag goes in back_. _Like this."_

After all these years of nothing, Embry still had the patience and caring of a saint. God, if anyone deserved this, it was him.

The screen of his phone lit up and Jacob read Bella's answer with a tight-lipped smile.

'_I love you and she will too. Give them time, Jake.'_

Jacob gripped the phone in his palm as his eyes swept up to the night sky and made a whispered vow to the moon as his silent witness. "Whatever he needs."

'

'

Light fell over Embry's eyelids, warm and gentle, and he opened them to a dream.

He still didn't believe it.

But here she was lying on her side, right in front of him.

Even the morning light had to caress that honey skin. She looked too flattering sweet to be substantial, like an angel lost in slumber: sable hair strewn across the pillow, plump lips lax, long dark lashes nestled against her cheek, a sublime peace strung between delicate brows. Her hands were wrapped in his first and holding it tightly under her chin like a talisman.

For the first time in longer than he could remember, he awoke with a smile.

His eyes washed over a face he'd known for only 24 hours yet somehow had dreamed of every night of the last 22 years.

He'd _imprinted_.

He still didn't believe it - how could she be _his_?

She _wasn't_, that's all there was to it. Embry didn't own anyone except himself and he certainly wasn't going to start now. She was a gift, a blessing, something to be cherished and cared for in whatever way she needed. He had no idea what their future held together, but just that somehow he was going to get hold her a little bit longer.

Without a fight.

He'd known that finding her was only half the battle. Holding her would be another one entirely, now that she knew what he was – a predator that had no right to do so. But last night, when she'd so fearlessly thrown her arms around him in the shed... when she'd touched his pain and _trusted_ _him_ against every instinct she to keep her safe… he knew that she felt something for him too.

And it was enough. God, it was so much more than enough it wasn't funny.

_This_ is all he wanted – it could be as complicated or unconventional or crazy-assed as the rest of his life, but all he wanted was just someone who wanted to be held.

By _him_.

And she did.

"Thank you," he whispered, his voice rumbling and low with sleep.

In response, her bow lips curved subtly in her sleep and those little hands squeezed his tighter. Long heavy lashes fluttered lazily against the light for a moment, until eyes were focusing in his, dark and deep and still.

"Emmie," she sighed, closing her eyes again as her smile deepened and she scooted closer with the rustle of sheets.

Embry felt like he was going to explode.

Oh, God, he just wanted one more peek at those eyes, just to make sure she was real, then he'd let her sleep.

He lifted his free hand and brushed a fingertip over her cheekbone and, like magic, those heartbreakingly beautiful eyes blinked open again.

Embry stared, dumbstruck, while his hand fell heavily back to the bed.

Sucking in a soft breath, the girl's hand unwound from his fist and her finger reached out to his cheek. With a pastel smile of pleasure dusting her lips, she whispered touch over his cheek and then down his nose.

She was _happy_ that he was here.

"I'm so glad you came back, Sweetheart," he breathed.

She traced that fingertip over his lips, following the words with her eyes and then her smile deepened. Slowly she picked her head up off the pillow and leaned in. Her apple-blossom breath heralded the touch of her nose to his, so sweet and tender and he closed his eyes as every last cell scrambled to catalog each scent and sensation. He was drowning in the moment, sucking it down into water-logged lungs until he thought his chest would burst.

As if somehow she felt it, a warm hand slipped over his heart rubbing a gentle circle.

"Emmie," she whispered over his lips.

With an intoxicated smile, he opened his eyes to her smile.

And gave everything effortlessly away. "Yours," he breathed.

At the subtlest pucker of her brow, his palm slipped over her dainty range of knuckles and he engulfed her hand in hers. Watching her eyes, he reached across the distance and placed her hand on her own heart, in a mime of the meaning.

"Yours," he repeated, smiling softly at her intense concentration.

She pressed her lips together for a moment and then patted her collarbone, "Yurs."

Embry's face cracked in a grin as he pulled his hand away and brought it back to his own chest. "Mine," he raised his brow and then mimicked clawing his heart from his ribcage. He'd gladly do it with his bare hands if she asked.

She watched him intensely as he ferried his fist back. "Yours," he pressed it over her heart.

Her face lit up like the moon. "My-een," she copied him, pulling at her heart with graceful fingers and then bringing them across to where his own was slamming against his chest like a jackhammer. "Yours."

Embry tried to put everything he had into convincing himself she was simply copying him – like she'd done with Bella yesterday in his shed – but he'd always been too damn good at reading eyes.

And hers were aware and steady and knowing and…

"Yours, Emmie," she said softly.

His heart flopped and flailed in his chest like a fish on dry land, and her gaze darted down to her hand with a soft laugh. She definitely had similar hearing.

Their eyes met and they both shared a smile as he pressed his palm over her heart again, light and reverent. Her bone structure was so fine, his fingers laced over her shoulder. "Yours."

A smile broke over her face like the dawn, showing perfect white teeth that were flat, making her look innocent and kind. She pushed up again, bracing her palm against his chest as she leaned back in for another brush of her nose

Waiting for it, Embry's eyes fluttered closed in bliss, feeling the warmth of skin over his heart, tasting her moist breath, listening to the soft rustle of sheets and the hypnotic thrum of her heart.

But it never came.

Suddenly hot moist velvet swiped over his lips.

That quick lap of her tongue felt like a stun-gun to the crotch and Embry's eyes popped open with a sharp hiss.

The girl froze, eyes wide and trained worriedly in his own. For a moment his brain revved in neutral while his body punched the NOS throwing his dick into overdrive.

A pucker appeared between her brows as she slowly pulled back, her anxious gaze desperately searching his face for clues.

Embry's swallow squirted loudly in the back of his throat while he frantically searched for traction.

_Oh, God, what was he supposed to do?_ His libido was certainly reacting to her like an imprint – if not the beautiful creature that she was – but she was also so much like a child.

_Lines, lines, lines… where the fuck were the lines?!_ Shit, he'd wished he'd talked to Jacob last night.

But that liquid rejection filling her eyes trumped it all.

He wet his lips, tasting her on them and nearly keening over. "No, it's okay," he gasped, taking her hand up in his own.

She stopped her retreat, but a dubious gaze flitted over his face. It was so incredibly adorable that a mutinous chuckle burst free.

That got a hesitant smile.

Embry brushed her hair back from her temple and then picked his head up off the bed. She promptly lay back, turning up to him expectantly. A pink tongue skated unconsciously over parted lips and Embry's breath caught in his throat.

Those artless sloe-eyes staring up at him were offering him everything, while her scent was sweetening like rain with undeniable desire.

_Oh, mother of shit._

He tried to swallow again but his spit had turned to dust and clung to the back of his throat. Embry had never had to struggle with control like his brothers, but in that moment he was terrifyingly close to snapping a steel tether he never usually knew was there.

Gritting his teeth, he subtly drew a breath through them as he tore his eyes from that ripe cherry mouth and took her eyes. It might have been worse. Her pupils were dilated to the whites and listing in sensual anticipation under heavy lashes.

Slowly he lowered himself down, reeling out a cable that was buckling under the weight, and pressed his lips to her cheek. The feel of apricot silk on flint lips made every nerve ending spark and sputter. Clamping down his stomach muscles, Embry pulled away with the soft smack of skin.

He drew a breath of her scent into the roof of his mouth, caressed it with his tongue and then released it in a husky whisper, "Kiss."

And then threw himself back on the bed so soundly it thumped.

Embry squeezed his eyes closed for a second, desperately reining in a body that wanted nothing more in that moment than to roll back over, press her down, and take everything that luscious mouth offered - with permission or not.

The swish of cotton had them popping back open to yawning eyes, darting over his face with an intensity he _really_ didn't want to see. He froze as a warm palm slipped to his chest and she leaned over him.

Absently pushing her hair behind an ear, she met his eye and then lowered herself just as slowly. It was like a dream – a lovely woman with a soft backlit halo whose face was shucked of any human guile, offering her desire to him in a still, steady gaze.

It was so intimate, it felt obscene and he clamped his eyes closed along with the fist at his side. His fingernails dug into the heels of his hand like he was clinging to the ledge over a bottomless ravine (he was).

Plump moist satin pressed to his cheek and he would have bucked off the bed if every muscle weren't already knotted in restraint.

"Kiss," a breathy whisper spilled over his face.

And then she did it again.

"Kiss," she repeated, the words brushing his cheek with her lips and melting the skin from his skull,

Another butterfly kiss lit on his cheek. And another. Her mouth flitted over his jaw, so light and gentle it burned through steel restraint like a blowtorch.

_Oh, God, he should turn away._

He should push her back or sit up or… _anything_ other than what he was doing: tipping his face into her breath.

But he'd waited so long for this touch, this giving… this tenderness. It was the first time in his life a woman had kissed him with care. And he was a weak fucking asshole because when her mouth brushed the corner of his, that fist in the sheets, slipped up to the back of her head and he took her lips.

Ground zero, nuclear wars, meteorites… nothing could have prepared him for it.

She surrendered instantly to the press of his mouth with a sparkling sigh of bliss that pried open the steel gates on deep gnawing hunger. Oh, she tasted so good: honeysuckle, apples and something ambrosial and arcane. He massaged and caressed, suckling it from soft plump lips that pliantly followed his lead while delectable little grunts in the back of throat begged for more.

Her hands were balled in overwhelm on his shoulders as she spilled over him, falling hungrily into his mouth, smothering him with heavy hair, warm breath, heated scent, the press of her breasts. Embry pushed into it, lifting his head from the pillow to gulp down more.

Like a lotus, she bloomed against him, parting dewy lips that were so lily pure, they were a taste of heaven. His tongue slipped in to suckle virgin nectar, tenderly caressing her smooth teeth and warm velvet.

She groaned softly as her fists open and her nails dug into his skin. Luxuriant, indolent, dreamy, her tongue joined his in a dance so effortless and fluent, it was like they'd been doing this all their lives.

But they _hadn't, _had they?

Holy fucking shit, what was he _doing_?

But then she climbed on top of him, and the press of her hip to his aching body sent a lightning jolt through the haze, illuminating _exactly_ what the fuck he was doing.

Sucking in a gasp that tore the air from her lungs, he whipped his face away from hers, clenching his eyes closed as he thumped his head and fist back to the bed. Every molecule of his body rebelling, Embry pressed his cheek into the pillow while he panted like he'd just sprinted back from Canada.

He could feel her breath, hitching over his jaw. He could feel her confused gaze as her fingers smoothed over the dents she'd made in the quivering steel of his shoulders.

True, Embry had taken willing women in a bathroom stall, but never – not _ever_ – had he been such a prick. Heated desire transformed instantly into liquid nitrogen shame and smothered him, making his next breath wither in his lungs.

Her starlight voice caressed over him, "Emmie?"

_Oh God._

He clenched his eyes and teeth tighter – needing to answer her, but knowing if he relaxed enough to do so, hell would break down the doors.

For several seconds only their syncopated breaths battled against the tension in the room. Then - thank everything that was holy - she rolled off his straining body.

He could feel her weight shift on the bed while restraint painted his forehead with cooling beads.

_What the fuck was wrong with him? _

She'd watched her family die, been injured, was in a strange territory, and was so sickeningly innocent… and _he'd just shoved his fucking tongue down her throat_?!

Everyone teased _Quil_ for being the imprint pervert.

Truthfully, the sexual drive of mated wolves had always disgusted him… a little. Like animals, they would shamelessly suck off their mate's face and take what they wanted, no matter who was watching.

Like they owned their women.

But this…?_ This…?!_

She was his to _protect_, not to own.

This was a different thing all together and Embry didn't know what to do with it. He'd never needed outside boundaries because he never overstepped the lines drawn by his heart.

But suddenly all thoughts and disgust exploded into fiery oblivion.

A feather-light brush over the throbbing flesh pinned to his hip by straining jeans might as well have been a knife to the balls.

An involuntary hand snapped up to a delicate wrist and his eyes popped open to the woman it belonged to.

Her eyes blinked wide from her curious study of his body to the hand on her wrist and then darted up to his eyes.

Embry released her hand instantly as her bottom lip quivered and tears leached into hurt eyes. It was worse than a punch to the face by Paul.

"Did I hurt you?" Embry rasped like he had late-stage emphysema as he sat up, gaze focused in that rejection.

She curled in on herself, tipping her head down so her hair fell over her face as he gently took her wrist in hand and examined it with feverish eyes. There wasn't so much as a mark - his hands would never hurt her, even by accident. It was her heart he'd bruised.

"Aw, honey," he choked. Like she was made of glass, he carefully slid his quivering palms along her jaw.

Biting his lip, he tenderly coaxed her chin up. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

That hurt pucker stayed between her brows as liquid eyes darted between his, so ingenuously confused it made him want to weep. In fact he did, hot tears filled his eyes.

He didn't give a damn.

"So sorry, Sweetheart," he breathed as he leaned in and brushed his lips, chaste and light, over hers.

He pulled back and she sniffled, blinking two diamond tears down the tracks from last night. Tipping his head, he brushed them away with gentle thumbs. First one side, then the other.

Flagrantly ignoring the pain of warping steel, Embry pulled his legs under him and scooted in closer. He forced his mouth into a similar contortion at her small smile.

Releasing her he smeared the heel of his thumb absently over each of his eyes and then fisted his hand over his heart. "Yours," he whispered, ferrying it across the distance to press it over hers (at a safe and platonic location somewhere near her collarbone).

Her eyes darted between his for a moment and then dropped to his lap. Without hesitation, her hand reached out toward his throbbing erection and Embry put _everything_ he had into _not_ flinching… and making her feel shame that she obviously didn't have.

Thank God, she didn't touch him.

"Mine?" she whispered, her eyes rising slowly to his.

_Really, what the hell could he say to that?_

Biting his lip, he squinted and gave her a minute nod.

Seeming reassured even by his uncomfortable affirmation, she pulled her hand back and settled it over her womb. She looked him right in the eye and pronounced softly, like a vow, "Yours, Emmie."

It was the most erotic thing he'd ever heard and his balls spontaneously combusted on the spot.

_Shoop. Gone._

Too bad it didn't do anything for the problem downstairs.

The beast didn't give a shit about the complexity of the situation or the strangeness, he was howling through the marrow of every bone so loudly his ears were ringing.

Guilt and self-disgust evaporated for the moment and all he was left with was... confusion. His mind couldn't seem to put it all together. She obviously knew something about sex, was fully aware of what she was saying and she _looked_ like she was at least 18…

_God, he didn't even know her name! _

But she was still looking at him with worried eyes that had just intimately offered him her body in a way that had nothing to do with a one-night stand.

Embry reach out to her hand, brushing his fingertips over her knuckles. "Thank you, Sweetheart," he whispered with the reverence such a gift deserved.

She smiled – a beautiful and unfettered thing – and reached out to him like a lover or a child and like obviously everything was decided.

It was adorable and disconcerting and-…

Embry placed a smacking kiss on her nose. "Not yet," he whispered over the bridge and then pulled back to her blinking bewilderment.

"Not yet," he repeated, unable to keep the smile from his lips as he took the hand snaking over his thigh into his. He tapped the other up to his temple. "I want to know you first."

Her head flowed curiously to the side.

His smile broadened and he touched a single finger to her forehead and then down to her heart. "I want to _know_ you, Sweetheart."

Understanding seeped into her eyes and she touched her forehead and then ferried her finger to his temple.

Embry nodded.

She sat back a little, her head tipping to the other side as a smile spread across her lips like it was a novel and pleasing idea.

A little flash of heat detonated in his gut – had someone taken this little body without that consideration? It was all so odd – she knew so little about humanity or intimacy, with absolutely no human hang-ups about sex. Her scent and his intuition told him she hadn't been with a male, at least for a while, though that kind of thing didn't bother him as long as it had been her choice.

So how was she so accepting of all of this?

Last night while he'd watched her sleep, he'd heard Jacob and Bella whispering that they thought maybe she'd imprinted in her way too because she was obviously so attached to him. Could that be it?

In the end, these questions would do nothing but steal time from each of these precious moments with her, so he quickly put them aside for the ones in her eyes as she leaned tentatively toward him.

A finger rose to uncertain lips. "Kiss, Emmie?" she whispered.

_Aw shit, how could he refuse?_

He leaned in to place what was intended to be a platonic kiss on her lips but fuck…

Just a touch was like a shot of some kind of sick drug. Their defiant mouths took things into their own hands and heatedly fused together like they were just picking up where they'd left off.

She hummed like raw sugar over his lips and Embry lapped it off, making them magically open to a Pandora's box of pleasure. Its treasure was violent in the way it exploded through Embry's brain, volatizing his blood and incinerating his cells to ash upon contact.

_Holy shit._

With a soft moan that made his dick seize, she went up on her knees as her arms wound around his neck pulling him closer. She was so uninhibited, so responsive and instinctive – it was an erotic sensuality that was both naïve but completely unafraid. It would be a potent and lethal cocktail for any male's restraint, but for a yearning boy and now man who'd spent so many long years waiting for this touch, it was more dangerous still.

But she was _trusting_ him.

He could feel it in the way she submitted and followed, giving herself completely to him with abandon like she had nothing to fear. She demanded nothing but took everything he gave, soaking up the sensations and savoring each one like it was more precious than the last.

Embry felt like they'd been both thrown overboard at high sea and he was treading 100 foot waves with her clinging to his neck, trying to keep both their heads above water. While his mutinous body dragged them down like a lead weight: _press her down, part her legs and let her accept you into her body and soul. She wants it. She wants you. She's yours._

**No.**

She was his to _protect_, not to plunder. And this shit was just not going to go down.

Breaking the kiss, he tipped his head up to the ceiling with a whooping gasp.

This was _his_ imprint – the one he'd been dreaming about and he'd never thought he'd find, a gentle woman with tenderness in her eyes and cherish in her touch - and it was going to go the way _he_ wanted it to.

He was sick of having nothing, sick of waiting and scraps, sick of giving and getting nothing. Now he had something he wanted and there was not chance in fucking hell he was going to let it go without a fight. He'd take on Paul, his own body or the gods themselves if they got in the way.

With soft sighs, she was peppering the sweetest sugar kisses down his pulse, flogging it into a fiery sprint with cashmere whip.

He smoothed a gentle hand over the back of her head.

And just like that, she stopped.

She panted quietly over his shoulder for a moment while he continued to stroke soothing over her hair.

Whether it was either the imprint or the magic of finding the perfect mate, Embry was starting to trust this bond, just like she did. He'd always been a man who knew when to follow.

And he'd also learned to accept the scraps he got thrown and people as they came (and left), so why wouldn't he embrace something as amazing as this for as long as he got to keep it?

"Sweetheart," he whispered. "Help me."

That face tipped up, eyes still and serious instantly finding his. "Help," she repeated, obviously understanding.

He smiled weakly. "It's hard for me-…" he raked his lip over his teeth as his gaze dipped down to where she'd crawled into his lap. "It… hurts," he breathed, the squint on his face as clear as the word.

She blinked, her eyes darting down to where an angry russet head was trying to squeeze out from under its denim prison. She looked back up with concern and not a lick of embarrassment and promptly climbed back onto the bed.

"Sorry, Emmie," she whispered, a caring hand slipping to his knee.

He shook his head slowly in awe at how sensitive she was. It was all so surreal and strange but… _easy_. This could be easy. If he let it.

Well, _easy_ was a relative term.

He swallowed down the fire that was still burning him alive. "Shower and food?" he rasped. Right now, he really needed to get away from this bed with this beautiful creature served up so temptingly on it.

Whatever she saw in his face made the soft private laugh that he'd heard yesterday pounce over a smothered smile and she slipped like silk from the bed. His eyes compulsively clinging to her, his body followed. He turned his back briefly to subtly rearrange his peevish body and then stepped to her side at the door.

She looked up at him with an affection in her eyes that he'd never seen aimed at him before and he lapped it off her face like the confection it was.

"Sweetheart," he whispered, leaning in and pressing his lips to her hair. Her smile broke all over her face and she tipped her head up in petition. Grinning, he leaned down and touched his nose to hers but before he could pull back, she caught him with fingers at the nape of his neck.

His breath yo-yoed and she caught it with a sweep of her lips across his, sweet and smooth like a brush of honey.

With a pastel smile, she pulled back, brushing his bangs back out of his eyes as she looked into them. God, he was so lost in those midnight seas – quiet and still and taking each moment as it came.

"Iss okay," she whispered.

That gentle reassurance wrapped around his heart like a balm and it stuttered. Her palm slipped absently down over it as she turned and put a hand on the doorknob.

And pulled.

Embry was snapped out of his stupor by the confused frown she turned his way. He quickly straightened and put his hand over hers, turning it with a quick demonstration and then opened it for them both.

The simple interchange was like a slap – how strange this all was for her, how scary it must be and what a fucking warrior his little doe-girl was under that delicate façade.

And she was reassuring _him_.

Embry needed to step up his game.

'

'

'

Embry refused to cater to his body's insurrection. He stood under the cold spray of the downstairs shower until it had beaten his body into submission.

When they'd come out of the bedroom an hour ago, only Bella and Kim had been around. With only a backward glance – that was loaded with understanding – his imprint had put herself in their care so Embry could take care of himself.

So he retreated to the shower and his thoughts, contemplating things like imprints and innocence, predators and prey, futures and pasts.

He thought about how - unlike his brothers who'd viewed their impending fates with a mixture of trepidation and terror – Embry had been _dreaming_ of an imprint. And then he'd let his past get in the way of accepting one to the point he'd almost lost her. He'd been so invested in having nothing, that when he'd been gifted everything he'd ever wanted he'd tried to give it back.

He wondered where _else_ in his life he'd done that too.

Well, one thing was certain: it was going to stop.

He'd been waiting all his life for this moment and he was going to be grateful for what was in his arms for as long as she stayed there. He wanted to live each moment so that – no matter what happened in an unknowable future – he'd look back and know he'd lived them without regret. Yeah, there were a million unanswered questions - and she still might end up leaving and going back to her own kind – but in the meantime, he was going learn from the courage of a certain little shapeshifter.

As he headed for the kitchen, he was so wrapped up in borrowed clothes (again) and personal thoughts, he nearly jumped out of both when an unexpected baritone greeted him.

"Well, here he is."

His face jerked up to the sight of Billy Black sitting in his chair at the head of the table with Jacob sitting on the bench to his right.

Embry pushed his hand through his damp hair and tried to reset. "Chief Black," he mumbled and then unconsciously met Jacob's eye, searching for clues.

Billy gave him a lazy smile as he propped his arms on his wheel chair. "I hear congratulations are in order?"

Embry nodded once as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Come eat, Emb," Jacob spoke up with a tip of his chin toward the breakfast lingering into this lunchtime on the table… for them. None of the usual Pack had been in the house this morning (why there was any food left).

Embry headed around to the other side of the table to where a few plates were stacked around a platter piled high with muffins and another with thick sausages.

His overworked mind spinning out, Embry paced to the counter and poured a cup of black coffee and then sat down across from Jacob several places toward the middle of the huge table. He'd never been the type to fill the silence with empty words so he ignored the two men watching him pull a plate from the pile and fill it with several muffins, figuring they'd talk to him when they were ready.

"So, Embry…" Billy began finally as he pulled the paper from the first blueberry muffin. "Jake has been filling me in and it looks like we have ourselves a whole mess of things to figure out."

Setting the muffin down, Embry lifted his cup to his lips and took a sip of bitter caffeine as he waited for more. At the slap of reality, that fragile sense of calm confidence from earlier shattered and his heart lunged into a sprint.

Of course, Jacob could hear it.

"Emb, we're gonna do everything we can to figure this out," his Alpha softened his voice like he did for an agitated wolf – which he undoubtedly was. But it somehow just made it all more grating.

His eyes skipped over to his Alpha as he swallowed his sip and set his mug down and squared his shoulders.

Jacob blinked unconsciously several times at whatever he saw in his face and then turned to his father. Billy was also studying him carefully.

"I have an idea about who her people might be," Billy began and Embry's gaze snapped into the old man's. "The Sioux have stories about the Deer People – elusive, quiet." Billy picked up his own coffee and took an unhurried sip with that signature calm. " 'Fact, Old Quil tells one about goin' down to his wife's Rez out in the Dakotas and driving down a dirt road at night. He caught a glimpse of a couple a' guys by the side of the road, but when he looked in the review mirror he saw nothin' but a herd a' bucks running off into the woods."

"I always thought that old codger was pullin' my leg." He set his mug down and gave Embry an easy smile. "They're not our spirit warriors, mind you, but more like what the White Man calls fairies. I know of one legend about a deer woman – a girl so beautiful she could bewitch even a mighty warrior and lead 'em astray..."

Embry's spine crackled like dominos down his back. That wasn't _his_ Sweetheart-…

"That's not what we think's happenin' here," Billy quickly amended. "I expect those were no more than old wives' tales to keep boys marrying in the tribe," he sniffed, turning to throw a wink at his son.

Jacob rolled his eyes. It was an old joke between them – Billy had never been happier than when his son taken Bella as his mate.

"But, point is, their storytellers may be able to tell us more," he turned back to Embry. "I was thinkin' I could have a chat with their chief and see if he had any ideas about finding her people."

With a curt nod, Embry lifted another sip of coffee to his lips to try and wash away the emotional cascade so he could focus on getting any details that could help her.

"Emb," Jacob drew his eye. "Dad asked Old Quil to come by this afternoon. His wife was Rosebud Sioux and they tell some of those stories. If she's from that area, they're thinking she might understand some Lakota."

The possibility of getting to _talk_ freely with his imprint made his heart race. Embry drew a deep breath into a tense chest as he set the mug down and his gaze fell to his plate. "That'd be good," he exhaled quietly.

The table was silent for a moment while Embry's hand absently traced the ridges of the paper cup baked around the muffin. He could hear the women upstairs – Kim's soft laughter, the shuffling of feet – they'd be coming down soon. And what had been percolating under the surface of bliss and questions this morning, were much darker things that needed to be dealt with quickly.

He should take this chance.

Embry looked up at his Alpha, razor eyes slashing through his lashes. He bit the words out hard, "What are you going to do about _the leeches_?"

Jacob's jaw squared subtly at his tone. "I wanted to ask you what you thought," he said carefully.

Embry's nostrils flared. "We kill them," he hissed.

Several micro expressions hopped under that steely Alpha stare.

Embry tipped up his chin and met his gaze head-on. "Two of her people got away," he barely recognized his own voice – it was ice-slick hard and bit into the room. "If they come back for her, those _fucking_ _demons_ could kill them."

While Jacob's tongue skated idly across his lips while thoughts flew behind his eyes. Drawing in a deep breath, he turned wordlessly to his father.

Smart man: he wasn't going to pit the safety of his own mate against Embry's imprint.

"None of us want them here, Embry," Billy jumped in lowly, trying to soothe the ratcheting tension while Embry stayed locked in a staring match with his Packmate across the table. "This is what we know from the one in charge: their seer has had a vision of an attack from the red-headed leech in a couple of months' time and then Bella drops completely out of her visions…"

Embry tore his eyes away from his Alpha and met Billy's sober stare.

"Like she died," the man whispered. "Tell me, what decision would you make?"

Absently working his jaw back and forth, Embry's mind tumbled over the details: the facts he knew, the way Billy was subtly playing on his own concern for Bella, that he was throwing him a bone about only a few months' time before they could get rid of a treaty that no one in this generation wanted…

_Any_ time was too long.

"Doesn't one of them read minds?" Embry's eyes pushed into crescents.

The question obviously took Billy off guard. He blinked and glanced at his son.

"Because I'm pretty sure Sweetheart doesn't have the mind of an animal," Embry sniffed bitterly. "Wouldn't that be a _breach of treaty_?"

Jacob and his father exchanged glances – Embry couldn't tell if this was something they'd discussed yet, but it was a neat and sneaky and a gazillion percent valid way to get what he wanted.

Jacob shifted on his seat. "We need to figure that out before we decide anything."

The door opened upstairs and both Jacob and Embry glanced reflexively toward the living room. Embry turned back first and Jacob slowly dragged his gaze back. He was trying to hide both worry and how much all this was eating at his heart.

But Embry saw it. He _always_ fucking saw it.

And he'd vowed he'd also try to see what _other things_ he'd been letting his past push away. This was one of them: Jacob worked his _ass_ off trying to do what was best for his Pack. He was a caring Alpha who did his best.

And he was the closest thing he had to a brother.

"The witch can't see Bella when she's with us?" Embry whispered.

Jacob nodded curtly.

"And you're going to mark her after she has the baby in _several months_…" he paused, watching understanding crystalize in his friend's eyes.

He swung his feet over the bench as he murmured under his breath, " 'Bet that fucks things up when Bella's tied to you 24/7…"

Jacob stood with him, a small smirk pulling at his lips.

"I think the leech's got it all wrong, Jake," Embry spoke quietly into his eyes. "But while you're figuring it out, tell them _no fucking hunting_."

Jacob's face went stone-cold sober. "Absolutely, brother."

A small smile flitted over Embry's lips and then his eyes darted out to the first bare foot pointing into sight on the landing.

And everything else disappeared.

Embry shoved his hands into his pockets as the women rounded the landing and instantly his imprint found his eye.

For umpteenth time in 24 hours, Embry's heart simply stopped. She was so incredibly beautiful he didn't think it was possible for the shock to ever go away. Her hair was in a thick plait that fell over a blue spaghetti-strap sundress that tied under the swell of her breasts and emphasized the ethereal grace of that body. But it was her _eyes_ that bewitched him, body and soul. They sparkled with the smile she so generously lavished over him and nearly brought him to his knees.

With that unearthly grace, she poured lightly down the stairs, leaving the other two women in her wake as she made a beeline for him in the kitchen. Embry finally roused enough brain power that he could make his feet move.

He caught her in the doorway as she threw her arms around his waist with abandon. "Emmie," she sighed, tipping up her chin.

Without a second thought, his head bowed to touch noses while a grin cracked his face in half. Skin on skin made starbursts flare behind his eyes and every cell in his body snapped into alignment with a sigh.

_How in the __hell__ had he lived without this for 22 years?_

She pulled back, blinking happily like all was suddenly right in her world too.

"Gotta be a double imprint," Jacob chuckled at his elbow.

Instantly, she shrank away into his chest.

Embry pulled her head soothingly to his shoulder as he watched his Alpha pass with a stiff spine, but not a break in his stride. To say Jacob Black was intimidating would be the understatement of the century, but with that heart and sunny smile, he'd never been around a woman who didn't feel safe… until this.

He could tell it was literally killing him.

"_Give her time, honey." _Bella's whisper echoed Embry's own thoughts as she wrapped her arms around her mate and he bent down for a long deep kiss.

Cheek turned, his imprint was watching them from out of the corner of her eye. Embry was oddly relieved, she hadn't tried to pull him into a kiss too – they _both_ needed time and he wasn't sure he was ready to share their budding intimacy yet.

Or _ever_. He'd always felt some things should be worshipped in cherishing private.

Embry smoothed a palm over her hair and she looked up with a soft, relaxed smile. She felt safe in his arms and it made him dementedly happy.

"Wanna eat?" he traced a finger over her cheek – forgetting that language was a day-old struggle.

With a glance to the kitchen she nodded and Embry placed a kiss to her hairline. "You're so smart, Sweetheart."

But as jaw-droppingly fast as she was learning, he still hoped to God she understood Old Quil – he wanted to know _everything_ about her. He turned, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, and lead her to the kitchen.

Then felt her body flinch into his side.

He'd forgotten about Billy – along with everything else that wasn't her – for those few minutes. Their Chief was smiling warmly down the table.

"How 'you doing Sweetheart," he greeted in that story-teller's voice.

She looked up at him uncertainly and Embry gave her a reassuring smile. "This is Billy Black, our Chief," he told her – knowing she wouldn't understand, but deciding talking like she did would help her learn faster.

"Sam said she was somethin' to look at, but my word…" he murmured meeting Embry's gaze with a slow shake of his head.

Something in Embry bristled at Billy talking like she wasn't here.

Being as sharp as his son, he read the fleeting sentiment and amended with a glance to each of their eyes. "You two make a real fine couple."

His imprint pressed closer but offered a tentative smile before looking up at him, with obviously something she wanted to say.

Jacob trailed into the room with Bella under his arm and his little doe-girl, pushed closer but watched them conscientiously skirting the room on the other side of the table. She raised a hand in a delicate point at his Alpha and then both her gaze and finger swept across the room to Billy.

"Yours?" she asked him and then looked up questioningly at Embry.

He blinked in surprise – Jacob and Billy bared _some_ physical similarities, but age and genetics didn't make it an obvious match.

"Yes," Billy spoke quietly into the silent room. "I'm Jake's father,"

His imprint's gaze swept out to the man.

"Father," Billy repeated and then pointed to where Jacob was still standing stunned in surprise. "Son."

"Fa-thur," she repeated slowly.

"Right." Billy gave her his infamous easy-going smile. "Come sit down, Sweetheart," he motioned to the table.

Embry rubbed a reassuring hand down her bare arm, relishing the feel of her skin, and she sighed and melted against him. God, that felt amazing.

He coaxed her to the table as Kim came into the room. Jacob sat down while Bella rounded the head of the table, placing an absent kiss on Billy's head on her way to the counter. Embry stepped over the bench and helped his imprint do the same, putting himself between her and the two men. She sat down beside him, pushing her long braid over her shoulder where it thumped heavily against the bench.

She watched him pull a plate from the pile and place a blueberry muffin in the middle of it. With glances at the girl beside him, he pulled the paper from the bottom one of his own pastries and then broke a piece off and popped it in his mouth.

His imprint scooted closer and her hands raised to her own plate, long fingers delicately pulling at the crimped paper. Satisfied she was settled, he looked up to find Jacob and his father watching her.

His gaze snapped them both out of their private thoughts.

"She seems to be settling in real well, all things considered," Billy murmured, picking up a link of sausage from his plate.

"That's all 'cause of Embry," Jacob sniffed, picking up his coffee – the casual words were heavily loaded and came with an unguarded glance that showed he was unsettled still.

Just like with his imprint's fear, Jacob's emotions would take time, not words, to heal. Embry had always been patient.

He glanced down at where his imprint was only about a quarter of the way around the muffin, carefully peeling the paper away from the edge like it was a fragile and priceless gift. He smiled softly to himself and stuffed the rest of the muffin in his mouth. He _was_ starving and it was all he could do to keep from pouncing like an animal on that pile of sausage and inhaling it all.

But it just felt _uncomfortable_ to eat meat in front of her …and he didn't know what to do with it.

"Here you go, honey," Bella set a steaming mug that smelled of flowers down in front of her and then skirted the table with two others.

Her hands abandoned their muffin-peeling and reached for the drink. Palms wrapping around the thick pottery, she lifted it to her lips.

With a high squeak, her hands reflexively flew from the mug like she'd been shocked… only to be caught by Embry's lightning reflexes before it could spill all over her. A drop sloshed over one side onto her plate as both hands came to her mouth and round eyes snapped to his worried gaze.

"Oh God, Emb," Bella hissed. "I'm so sorry. I didn't think it was too hot."

Huge dark eyes were still locked on him while her fingers fluttered over her lips. "You okay?" he whispered.

She nodded, casting a wary gaze at the mug in his hand. Embry lifted it to his own mouth for an idle taste. It wasn't mouth-burning hot, but he realized everything she'd eaten yesterday had been room temperature. Setting it down on the table, he ran a reassuring hand down her back with a smile and then spun around off the bench.

He could feel her eyes on him as he crossed to the refrigerator while Bella continued to apologize. Jacob soothed her as Embry pulled open the freezer and dug out two ice cubes. He turned back to find doe-eyes watching his every move.

He smiled as he returned to her side and glanced at Bella's chagrinned grimace. "It's okay," he told her. "I think she's just not used to eating anything warm."

With that he let a cube drop into the mug. "Ice," he told his imprint, holding the other one up between his fingers.

She reached out a curious hand to touch it… and then _laughed_. It was a bright, tinkling sound that somehow dispelled any lingering tension at the table but, unfortunately, transferred it to his dick.

Embry's lips curved in spite of it as he handed it to her and then stepped over the bench, watching as she fingered the cube with both hands and then brought it to her mouth. A pink tongue darted out to lap over it and she giggled again.

Grinning like the fool he was, Embry's gaze swept the table as he picked up his second muffin. Broad smiles were spread all around as everyone returned to their own plates.

Jacob's father started low conversation that was obviously a continuation from earlier, about a phone call he'd received from Rebecca last night and Embry glanced up to read pain in his Alpha's expression. There were no secrets in the Pack – or at least not for long – and this particular issue had been going on for a while. Jacob's other sister was involved with an asshole who was borderline abusive and they'd been trying to get her to come home for a while now.

He listened idly while he watched his imprint lick at the ice cube in blissful unawares and then plop it in her tea. She pulled the mug toward her and watched it float in the liquid, poking it with her finger and a smile. Watching it, she went back to painstakingly peeling her muffin.

And another two baked goods were down for the count on Embry's side of the world.

He was just reaching for another when a sound outside had him reflexively turn toward the back door, along with every other supernatural head.

His imprint turned back to the table first. "Kim," her crystal voice called the woman across from her. "Yours."

Embry turned back with surprise to find Kim frowning in confusion. "Jared and Levi are here," he provided and then met his imprint's smile with wonder. Seeming pleased with whatever she saw in his face she returned to where she'd finally freed her muffin and plucked out a blueberry. He watched her ferry it to her mouth as the two men stomped mud from their feet on the porch and Kim got up from the table.

Her face lit up as she chewed the little berry and Embry couldn't help his smile.

"Hey guys," Kim greeted as she opened the door. "Sweetheart's here."

Jared pulled his imprint into a hug as his little brother peered past him curiously.

Turning, Embry's imprint leaned into him shyly and he ran a hand soothingly down her back.

"Jared," Kim turned while she wrapped her arm around his waist. "This is Sweetheart. Sweetheart this is Jared, my mate."

She turned back to him with a pucker between her brows.

"Mate," Embry repeated and then pointed to Bella and Jacob.

She glanced across the table and then back at Embry, a hesitant finger pointing first at him and then at her chest.

A smile poured over his lips while the beast purred happily in his gut. "Yeah," he whispered, leaning in to kiss her temple. "Yours."

She tipped her nose under his jaw. "Yours," she whispered over his pulse, making it sing in his ear.

Heavy stares brought him out of the moment of reverie and he glanced out of the corner of his eye at Jacob and Bella's surprise. It irrationally annoyed him. He knew with her childlike innocence that his imprint _did_ and _would_ bring out that lupine protectiveness that ran so hot in the Pack, but protecting her was _his_ job and they'd better get used to it.

He turned back to the people crossing the kitchen.

"And this is Levi," Kim continued as she brought the two men around the table. It was a little weird to be the only ones seated on this side, but Embry was grateful – it's what they both needed right now.

His imprint turned to him with questions and he blinked back into the moment. "What, Sweetheart?"

She pointed first to Jared and then to Levi. "Yours?"

Embry pulled a confused corner of his lip into his mouth and she pointed at Jacob and Billy. "Fa-thur," she said carefully and then her gaze swept back to the two bewildered siblings frozen where they were poised to sit down.

His eyes inflated with understanding and his lip popped free. "Oh, they're _brothers_."

"Bro-thur," she repeated, smiling happily before she turned back to where all three were blinking in surprise. As half-brothers and with Jared's dark athletic features and Levi's sandy hair and rounder face, they looked nothing alike. She must have some other ability that they didn't understand.

Kim was obviously thinking the same thing. "She's amazing," she met his eyes as Jared helped her over the bench.

Embry smiled with pride as he smoothed an absent hand down her back. But with all the craziness that went with being wolves, it was easy for the table to quickly adjust.

"Sam's got Quil and Paul on?" Jacob asked from the end of the table as he passed down the platter of sausage.

The men both nodded. "And there's no movement on the north," Jared reported.

"Emb," Jacob drew his attention. "Just FYI, I'm running two extra on the border until we get shit figured out. They all know to also report and protect any who could be her kind coming back."

He nodded appreciatively and took a sip of his coffee. "When's Old Quil coming by?"

"Another hour or so," Jacob popped half a sausage into his mouth. "Quil's bringing him. But I was thinking we need to have the guys over and get everyone on the same page tonight. Do you think that's going to be a problem?"

Embry glanced down at where his imprint was pressed into his side and nibbling another blueberry, smiling away at Jared and Levi's antics as they jostled each other for who got first dibs on the food.

"You can always eat in the other room again," Bella offered.

"Yeah, we'll see," he turned back thoughtfully to his Alpha's mate. "I think it's good if she starts meeting everyone."

As much as he wanted to wrap her in his arms and hoard her all to himself, he wasn't going to be that selfish bastard. His moments with her were to cherish and protect, not own. Embry knew now: he'd always do what was best for her, even if it was letting her go. This was _her_ Pack – at least for the moment – and the sooner she started getting comfortable around them, the safer she would feel.

"You want some of this, Sweetheart?"

Embry turned back to see Levi scooting the plate of meats across the table toward her. His body had already shifted to stand and give the boy a beat-down when he registered his imprint's reaching hand.

Lips lowering from his canines, he watched in confusion as she pulled the platter toward her. The table quieted as people watched the scene surreptitiously while they ate or grabbed their drinks.

His imprint turned those quiet eyes on him. "_Eat_, Emmie."

His eyes darted between hers in disbelief.

She laughed softly at whatever she saw in his face and leaned in closer, lifting a finger to his mouth. It shocked the hell out of him when the tip shimmied gently past his lips. It tasted like blueberries mixed with the sweetness of her skin as she rubbed almost soothingly over the point of one of his canines.

"Iss okay," she whispered as her finger left her mouth and her palm smoothed over his cheek on the way back to her lap. In her touch he felt so much: absolution, acceptance, tenderness.

She plucked another blueberry out of the muffin and brought it to her mouth, subtly suckling both it and his taste from her fingers then turned back and watched him expectantly as she chewed behind a soft smile.

Embry was floored. She knew she was sitting at the table with predators – and that her mate was one too – and she was still so accepting and kind. He'd never felt so cared for in his life.

He shook his head minutely to clear it and his gaze swept a table that was equally stunned.

Bella was watching him with hormonal tears in her eyes. "Um," she sniffled, flustered. "I h-have some blueberries in the refrigerator." She wiped her mouth and eyes with a napkin and Jacob supported her as she stepped over the bench.

His Alpha met his gaze with a sad smile.

Blinking, Embry reached out to the platter with a glance at the woman staring up at him. "Thank you," he whispered as he pulled the meats to the other side of his plate. He felt her eyes on him as he piled on several fat sausages while his mind chased its tail.

He served himself and pushed the platter away then lifted the first one to his mouth. But that first bite erased any lingering discomfort. His body was starving and it needed protein and it was just a fact of this crazy life.

Before he knew it he'd inhaled his plate and was reaching again for the platter.

A warm hand slipped over his knee and wiggled under the hem of his cutoffs. He glanced down to find his imprint smiling at him, obviously pleased. As he piled on more of the needed nourishment, she leaned into his shoulder and he wrapped an arm around her waist.

_Fuck, he was the luckiest man alive._

And so the next hour passed like a dream. With his imprint tucked in his side, drinking tea and nibbling happily through the whole bowl of blueberries Bella had brought her, he fed both his hunger and soul while he listened to his Pack volley light conversation across the table.

They seemed to enjoy teaching her words, answering questions, making her laugh – she was both guest and irresistible new plaything, true, but they were also making her feel like family.

And as much as sharing her attention made that bestial jealousy percolate in his gut, when he got past the gag reflex, it just made him feel more like she belonged in his arms. She would listen attentively and giggle at antics, but all with a hand on his leg or a head on his shoulder that showed she never forgot where she belonged.

When she looked up into his eyes with smiles or questions like they were sharing this experience together it soothed something deep and primal that had lain broken for so long. He _wasn't_ sitting on the sidelines in solitude anymore.

And perhaps, maybe he never had been.

For the first time in his life that he could remember, Embry felt…

_Peace._

He was just pushing his plate away to replace it with his second cup of coffee when suddenly his imprint gasped and spun around and off the bench in a single fluid move. Before his body had even registered the shock of the change, battle-ready adrenaline slammed into him and he'd whipped around.

She froze right behind him, turning over her shoulder as her eyes washed over his face with a concern like she'd _felt_ the burst of heat up his spine. Those lips spread in a smile and she leaned in with a hand on his shoulder and touched her nose to his temple – instantly popping that burgeoning dread far more effectively than if she'd given him a soliloquy of useless words.

Then she turned back to where Bella was watching her by the counter. His imprint danced on light feet toward the woman her thick braid swaying hypnotically down her back. Embry turned curiously on the bench, propping his knee over the warm wood her body had left for him in its wake.

"What is it, Sweetheart?" Bella smiled broadly.

The taller girl's head swayed to the side with a lissome smile and her fingers darted out to hover just over the swell of her child.

Bella laughed. "How did you know he was kicking, huh?" she took the girl's hand in hers and pressed it over the side of her stomach.

"She heard it," Jacob's imperious voice rose behind him.

Embry glanced over his shoulder to see a complex expression on his Alpha's face: pride, curiosity and the sappiest little smile he'd ever seen playing on his lips.

A light giggle had him turning back to where his imprint's fingers were brushing delicately over the flutters in the woman's belly. Now Embry could hear it too, of course. He usually tuned out bodily functions into the white-noise of supernatural sensory overload, but Jacob, of course, would be monitoring his mate.

Just like Embry cataloged every heartbeat of the girl across the room. And right now, it was skipping in delight.

She turned to him with wide eyes that sparkled. "Emmie!" she called.

A cashmere smile softened his lips at her expression of wonder – so artless and offered openly to him like she was sharing her heart.

Without a second thought, he was pouring over the bench and stalking that magnetic intimacy. His hand rose to brush affectionately under her braid at the nape of her neck as he stepped in for a kiss to her hair.

His imprint's hand left Bella's belly and found his, tugging gently.

Embry paused, glancing first over his shoulder at his Alpha's permissive nod and then back to Bella's smile. He let his imprint guide his hand in a feather touch to Bella's swollen side. A thump against his fingertip made his face crack in a smile before he pulled back away.

He met Bella's elated eyes. "Gonna be soccer player," he smiled, shoving his hand in his pocket and taking a step behind his imprint. He knew how possessive his Alpha was.

"Yeah, or football," Bella grinned. "He's usually so quiet and then suddenly, kapow! I think it's just going to get worse."

"Emmie."

His gaze fell back to where his imprint was looking up at him while she tentatively touched Bella's middle again. Her fingers left the bump and then she settled a palm over her flat stomach. "Yours?"

His heart stopped along with all sound in the room. Shocked senseless, Embry's jaw fell open with a soft pop of lips as she stared up at him, innocently waiting for his answer.

_His baby? She wanted his baby? _

To say he'd never thought of having children would be an unpardonable sin. All those long years of dreaming were peppered with images of watching his mate in the kitchen, ripe with his child. He kept those fantasies under the tightest of wraps – Paul and the others would have never let him live them down.

The imprint bond came with a mating imperative and he'd seen in his brother's minds the primal need for progeny too. But in others of the Pack – like Jacob – it was fueled by the pride of possession and heirs.

Embry didn't understand it. He loved kids and the way they looked at the world with untarnished hope and joy. In Sam, his father's abandonment had left him apathetic at best about fatherhood, but in Embry it just made him want to give a child everything he'd never had.

Along the child's mother.

Parenting was something Embry wanted to do _with_ his mate as an expression of their love for each other - something his own mother never had.

Reality had been overtaken by dream for a moment, but a soft growl brought him back hard.

Embry's gaze snapped instinctively to where Jacob was sitting ramrod straight at the table, looking like he wanted to jump it and flay him where he stood.

And finally the prickling silence filtered into his staggering heart.

Every last wide eye was trained on them. Over this indulgent afternoon, they'd come to see his imprint as a child – which she seemed in so many ways – and this turn of events had shocked them off their asses.

And they thought it was his fault.

A soft sound made his eyes dart down to his imprint, who'd noticed the stark change in the room. Those eyes were now lowered under heavy lashes as she shrank back toward the counter.

_Oh, no fucking way._

Embry was never going to let her to feel shame – not if he could help it. He'd deal with their disapproval later, these moments were theirs and he was going to cherish every one and make sure she could do the same.

"Sweetheart," he breathed, stepping between her and the room as he pulled her around in front of him. His palms cupped her jaw and gently urged it up. Ridiculously long lashes fluttered as confused eyes rose to meet his.

"Sorry," she whispered.

Embry shook his head as he let his overflowing heart spill across his face in a smile.

Those ingenuous eyes darted between his and her lips curved tentatively as he leaned down and rubbed his nose tenderly over hers. "Yes," he whispered into the intimate space between them. "I want that."

Holding her dainty head in his palms, her breath hitched and billowed over his throat as he ran his nose along the bridge of hers. Her hands crept up to rest on his chest and her fingers brushed back and forth over his heart.

Finally he placed a kiss right between her brows and he pulled back just enough to see those intoxicated eyes. "Not yet," he mouthed silently and then brought a finger to tap her temple. He brought it to his own and happiness broke all over her face.

He straightened, covering the hand over his heart. Those uncertain clouds were now banished completely from shining eyes as her other hand left to settle over her own heart. She nodded, like they were sharing a private vow… because they were.

She was trusting him – only him – to cradle her heart. There was not a hint of embarrassment or chagrin or worry for the others in the room, she was utterly content to rest in the sheltering world of his embrace.

Embry had never felt more powerful in his life.

Pulling her to his chest, he wrapped her in arms that had been given a new purpose and pressed a smacking kiss on her forehead. He glanced at where Bella had moved off to fiddle with the leftovers but was casting worry out of the corner of her eye.

The kitchen behind him was still heavy with silence, punctuated by the attempts to break it with the sound of clearing dishes. Luckily he wasn't going to have to turn and face the firing squad yet because Quil had arrived with his grandfather.

Embry found himself instantly switching tracks - in a few minutes he might be getting to know more about this gentle woman in his arms.

"Yoo hoo!" the front door opened like charm and his imprint tipped her face up to him with questions.

"Quil," he grinned as he turned them, wrapping her into his side.

He cast the first glance out at the room where Billy was starting to wheel around the table and the others were standing and clearing dishes. His gaze snapped to his Alpha's stare - sober, intense and boiling with lame-assed paternal warning. Like the girl wrapped in his arms was his fucking three year-old daughter that Embry had just threatened to deflower.

He and Jake were going to have a little talk.

But not now.

Nostrils flaring, Embry tore his gaze away and led his imprint toward the living room as she wrapped a tight arm around his waist.

Jacob beat him with a clenched jaw and long brisk stride.

Billy Black looked up from his chair with that unflappable smile. "Old Quil's looking forward to meeting you, sweetheart."

The girl peeked around Embry's chest and gifted the man with a smile even though Embry didn't think she probably understood much more than her own name in the sentence. But they'd all taken Embry's cue by now and talked to her like she did. It pissed him off when they spoke to her like she was stupid or something… she certainly wasn't.

They let the man go first, taking his time as he trailed after his chair.

Embry was monitoring his imprint carefully to see how she was taking the new experience – it would inform how he dealt with the Pack this evening. So far, she was alert and attentively search for cues, but not anxious per se. She smelled so sweet in his arms.

He paused in the doorway, letting her take in the living room where Quil and Jacob were helping the frail elder settle in on the easy chair.

Kim was helping Jared and Levi clean up in the kitchen but Bella passed them, brushing a hand over the girl's arm on the way. She looked up and Bella smiled reassuringly at her and then met Embry's gaze with a smile that was just as kind.

Jacob was right: Bella rocked.

Embry looked down at his imprint. "Quil speaks some Sioux," he murmured.

Her two fluttering blinks brought a flash of recognition to her eyes and he smiled, encouraged.

"How are y'doin' old man?" Billy called out jovially as he wheeled over beside the chair.

Old Quil cackled in a way that sounded eerily like his grandson, aged to perfection. "Old man? Who's the one still walking?"

Billy's booming laughter billowed over the room and the girl under his arm giggled in resonance.

Embry looked down to her open smile. She reacted so viscerally to the feelings of others. "C'mon," he tipped his chin.

"So where's this little one? Here you are!" Quil gave her a snaggle-toothed grin as they rounded the chair to the couch beside it.

She tucked her chin timidly.

"Sweetheart, this is Mr. Ateara," Embry introduced them with his usual respect.

"Ateara my ass," he snorted. "Call me Quil, child. Mercy, she makes an old man's blood run again, eh Billy boy?"

"My blood's runnin' just fine." Billy winked at them as Embry held his imprint's hand while she sat on the couch beside him.

He lowered himself after, watching her smile shyly at the two elders. But their rambunctious camaraderie was doing its job at putting her at ease. Embry appreciated it immensely.

She scooted into his side as he propped his arm on the couch behind her.

"Lord, it's been so long, I'm rusty," Quil chuckled as his grandson and Jacob sat on the opposite couch.

"Well give it a go, Quil," Billy patted the arms of his chair. "It's a shot in the dark anyway."

The man licked his weathered lips and sat up in his chair as the girl turned to him expectantly.

The language rolled off his lips. "Tókheškhe yaúŋ he, Čhaŋtéskúya."

With a soft gasp, Embry's imprint bolted up, nodding. Embry sat up too as she scooted to the edge of the couch and pointed at Quil and then herself.

A huge smile spread the wrinkles across his face and he continued, "Wíyuškiŋyaŋ waŋčhíŋyaŋke ló."

But at whatever he'd said she frowned with a dismayed shake of her head.

Embry was about to burst his seams. "What did you say?!"

Quil considered the girl for a moment and then turned to him. "Well first I said, '_welcome, Sweetheart_-…'"

And the girl turned to Embry nodding vigorously. He smoothed his hand over the back of her head and smiled through his confusion.

"But when I told her it was nice to meet her," Quil continued slowly. "She didn't seem to understand."

The old man tried another rolling phrase and the girl turned back to him, again with a confused pucker to her brow.

From his chair, Billy tented his hands in front of him as he rolled pensive lips. "Maybe she only knows a little Lakota?"

"But she understood _something_," Embry cut in, looking down at his imprint's excited eyes. "Can you say the first thing again?"

Quil obliged. "Tókheškhe yaúŋ he, Čhaŋtéskúya."

The girl whipped around, nodding vigorously. "Shan-…" she halted and licked her lips. "Schan-tay… skue-yea," her callow mouth struggled with the words as she pointed to her chest.

She turned back to Embry, his attention focused like a laser. "Emmie," she pointed to him and then put her hand on her breast. "Chan'té."

Embry sat on the edge of the couch, facing her. "That's your name? Chanté?"

She smiled so wide those perfect teeth sparkled. "Em-bwee…" she said carefully, intense eyes darting between his. "Emmie." She patted her chest. "Chan'té-skueyea… Chan'té."

Embry's grin hurt his face. "That's your nickname?" he breathed. "Chanté?"

She nodded happily, lifting her chin to him. Embry lifted his hands and cradled her jaw in palms that quivered with emotion. Her fingers wrapped around his wrists as he leaned down and touched her nose.

"_Chanté-skueya_," he whispered the name carefully, reverently, branding it on his soul. _"Chanté."_

"Emmie," she whimpered and he pulled back to look into her eyes, now shining with tears.

Embry's lips buckled in a smile that tried to contain a tsunami as his eyes washed over and over her beautiful face. He didn't give a shit about his silent audience as he carved out this moment for them to savor and cherish.

He leaned his forehead against hers as his hands smoothed back over her hair. "Chanté, sweetheart…"

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_Review if you like._


	4. Chap 4

Thank you for your encouragement and kind support of sap ;-) I'll continue unless you tell me otherwise.

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**A/V:** _(Probably the only one of this fic)_

**A:** "Afterglow" by Phaeleh – A lovely soft-step (vs dubstep) song and kinda the theme for this fic, complete with high breathy O/C voice. But whatever you do, don't watch the official vid! Ack, it _ruins_ it.

**V: **Several folks have asked who I'm envisioning as Chanté. I didn't write her based on anyone, but went looking. I changed the "cover/icon" for this fic temporarily with an image that's pretty damn close to what I see in my head (Neha Sharma is the model). Though of course this is the beauty of fiction: use your own imagination.

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Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy.

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**Chapter 4**

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_Chanté-skueyea_. _Sweetheart_. Embry had known her name from the beginning.

He was grateful for the serendipity whispered through his fate – like a quiet apology for all it taken from him.

And her.

Embry smoothed a hand over a head of sable silk as he cocked his head at the woman lying asleep on the bed beside him.

Finally she was resting… somewhat.

He pressed his lips together as a finger traced over her brow where a pucker still dug into that peace. It mirrored his own. He'd have never guessed that such a sublimely joyous and innocent creature would have known the pain of this world.

But she did.

It hurt so deeply that she did.

The conversation with Old Quil had not gone nearly as well as Embry had hoped. Chanté only understood the most basic of Lakota Sioux, so, cobbling together simple words, they'd stumbled through only half an hour of halting conversation.

They still knew so little.

But he knew that she hurt. Deeply.

And he wanted to know everything about it so he knew better how to hold her. From what they could understand, she had a father somewhere, but she'd lost her mother and had no sisters either. But when they'd asked about her brothers, she'd finally disintegrated into tears, falling into his chest where she clung like he was the only thing holding her in the world.

She remembered.

She understood the words _yellow_ and _eyes_, and when Old Quil had put them together she'd wailed in anguish. Embry had hoped biology had been kind and blocked out the night when she'd watched her brothers murdered in front of her eyes, their life sucked out and final suffering breaths expelled in terror. By demons with slow violence.

Embry hadn't been able to stand it anymore. Without a word to the others in the room, he'd scooped her up into his sheltering arms and brought her to the haven of the guest room… and just held her.

Embry bit his lip, shimmying it to and fro and feeling teeth slice through skin and into the rusted quick. He lapped at the blood like somehow if he just paid the right price, the gods would let him go back and do it all over again. And protect her.

This guilt was such a hefty burden. He'd _been_ there. He'd _known_ something was wrong. Still he'd done nothing.

Closing his eyes, he drew in a long slow breath through his nose and tried to reset. Living in the past was only going to steal from the present and right now there was so much more to figure out. He needed to be strong.

Like she was.

Chanté had been facing each moment of this frightening newness with the courage of a warrior and optimism of a child, even though her heart had shattered and the shards were still lodged in her soul.

Embry _had_ to be better.

He wouldn't let her suffer anymore and that meant he needed to step up and suit up to slay any demon that dared rear its head again over their horizon. Because it _was_ their horizon, Embry knew that now.

Earlier in the conversation Old Quil had asked where she came from and the only thing she could do was point off into the woods behind the house. Speaking words Embry suspected she'd only heard in her head was still a struggle for her and Chanté didn't recognize any human names of places that they'd tried. But when the elder had tried a different route and asked her where home was, she'd sat up straighter and answered, clearly and with no hesitation:

"_Emmie."_

The men in the room had graciously ignored the tears that bled into his eyes - Embry had never been given such a precious gift. He vowed to spend every breath until his last trying to be worthy of it.

He'd do everything in his power to find her father, he'd fearlessly search for the answers to a million questions and he'd meet any obstacle in his way head-on.

Like the one waiting for him right now in the kitchen.

Smoothing his palm over the woman's head beside him, he leaned down and pressed his lips to a silky cheek and that last little pucker in her brow magically slipped lax. He smiled softly as he pulled back, eyes washing over that angelic face, finally at peace. It made him dementedly happy that she felt safe with him.

Because she was.

She'd gifted her trust, her heart, her body with complete and utter abandon and he'd guard them with his life and fucking anything else he had at his disposal.

Eyes unable to tear themselves away, Embry slipped off the bed and backed toward the door. The Quils had left a while ago – along with everyone else – and Bella had gone upstairs for a nap. Jacob had obviously carved out a few moments of solitude so they could talk before the Pack arrived for dinner and a meeting.

And Embry was going to take advantage of the time to get a few fucking things straight.

His gaze gulped down a last glimpse of the gentle warrior curled up on her side, and then he turned away.

It would have been easier to gnaw off his own arm, but he'd better get used to it. He wasn't going to _cling_ to this dream – she wasn't his to own, she was his to _protect_ and sometimes that would mean letting her go.

He opened the door and stepped out into the hall, pulling it quietly closed behind him. Making a quick detour to the bathroom, he leaned over the sink and splashed cold water on his face, trying to reset.

As water trickled off of his chin, he absently looked up into the mirror… and did a double-take.

He barely recognized the man staring back. His face looked thinner, older somehow, his shoulders broader and there was a subtle change in perspective like he'd grown an inch or two since he'd last looked in this mirror only yesterday.

But the biggest difference was his eyes.

Embry had always hated looking into them – to him, they screamed the pain of a lost boy. But now… _now_ they were steady, sober, determined. He could still see his heart beating so close to the surface they seemed to pulse, but each measure was hard and unapologetic, strong and unafraid.

Ignoring the water dribbling off his jaw onto his shirt, he straightened and pulled his shoulders back, absently flexing and watching the contours strain against his borrowed shirt and then ripple down bare arms. His musculature was still on the lean and lithe side of the pumped-up Pack, but there was a subtle new bulk to his frame.

_Good_.

He didn't wonder _why or how_ he'd had a growth spurt at the ripe old age of 22 and five years after his Phase, he _knew_. His body was stepping up to his purpose, the same of his heart.

Smearing the drips from his jaw with the brusque back of his fist, he opened the door and headed down the hall, cataloging the slow even breaths of his imprint behind him.

Bella was also slumbering upstairs and the silence of the house was only marred by the hum of the refrigerator, the water heater in the basement and the soft click of a cellphone in the kitchen up ahead.

Embry entered the kitchen to find his Alpha, leaned back against the counter and scrolling through a touchscreen phone with a half-drained beer sitting beside him on the counter. He'd known Embry was coming, of course, and had staged this distraction to ease into what they both knew would be a contentious conversation at best.

"Jake," Embry greeted quietly, his gaze slipping to the refrigerator as the man looked up from his cell.

Embry wasn't ready to look him in the eye just yet. After his imprint's tears, he knew he was still agitated and blame was such an addictive game.

"Is she doing better?" Jacob murmured.

Embry watched him watching him out of the corner of his eye as he walked on by. "She's sleeping," he bit out as he opened the refrigerator with the jangle of bottles– though of course his Alpha could hear that. This was the way wolves made small talk: they pretended they were human again.

Pulling out a beer, he unscrewed the cap and then tipped back a long draught as he let the rattling door close behind him. They couldn't get drunk now and didn't even feel a buzz without the stuff being much stiffer, but whether it was the manly indulgence, the symbolism or the acuity of their senses, beer seemed to take the razor's edge off instinct.

Still without a glance to his Alpha, Embry crossed the kitchen and then congealed back on the bench, propping his elbows behind him on the table. His eyes swept up to Jacob's unreadable stare, taking inventory from behind that leader's mask.

Embry held his gaze as he turned slightly to the beer in his hand and sucked down another swig on one side. With the pop of his lips on the glass, he let his hand fall so it hung from the table, dangling the neck of the bottle from between his fingers.

And waited.

Snatching up his own drink, Jacob took a shot and then swallowed it with a roll of his lips. " 'Looks like you've grown again," he sniffed.

"I have," Embry intoned, watching what he realized was _discomfort_ flickering behind his friend's eyes.

He'd never seen Jacob so uncertain in his life. Of course to anyone else he looked like their stalwart, indomitable Alpha, oozing back against the counter in a devil-may-care lounge.

But Embry saw it. He _always_ fucking saw it.

And he was starting to appreciate that for the gift that it was.

Jacob felt vulnerable for some reason (he was pretty sure he knew why) and Embry was going to leverage the hell out of it if he gave him any shit.

"So I'm meeting with the Cullens tomorrow," Jacob began lowly, lifting the bottle and taking a deep gulping drought this time.

So they were going to start here? _Alright…_

Embry canted his head as he watched his Alpha smear his lips with the back of his hand and then lower the empty bottle.

"I'm meeting Carlisle and the Cocksucker at the hospital," Jacob continued setting the beer down and following it with his eye. They all knew who the Cocksucker was – the leech who'd dared harass their Alpha's mate. The only reason he still had a head was because of Bella's gentle heart.

"With-…?"

"I'm going alone," Jacob looked back up.

The words jumped his lips in a hiss, "I want to come."

Jacob shifted back against the counter. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" he murmured.

Embry's eyes dropped down to the bottle swinging between his fingers as he imagined seeing _any_ leech again, much less one of the demons from that night. A vision tore through his brain of how satisfying it would feel to rip off that Cocksucker's head with his bare hands, freeing a geyser of her kin's blood, and painting hospital walls with crimson.

Lips flashing up reflexively from his canines, Embry quickly tipped back the bottle and poured cold beer down over the guttural rumble of jagged rage. He lapped the yeast from his lips and then looked up to Jacob's stoic stare.

"No, you're right," he hissed. Embry never had any problems admitting it when it was true.

Jacob nodded curtly.

"I don't want you giving details," he continued with quiet heat. "I don't want them knowing anything about her."

"Wasn't gonna," Jacob propped one foot over the other as he leaned against his elbow. "I figure they're not our secrets to tell, anyway."

Embry nodded and his eyes fell back to his drink and sloshed it restlessly around in the bottle. Just the mention of those monsters volatized his blood well past the boiling point. The pressure was nearly unbearable. Added to a protective nature anyway, the lupine punch combined with imprint cocktail was a lethal combination to be sure.

_Bring it on._ This thing could be as painful as it wanted to be – it was worth it.

"So Billy's still going to see what he can find out about her people."

Embry's gaze snapped up to his Alpha crossing toward the fridge while he cast a glance out of the corner of his eye.

Embry's brow furrowed. "Why wouldn't he?"

Jacob glanced over his shoulder as he reached in and pulled out another beer. "I didn't know how you'd feel about it, knowing that she doesn't want to leave."

Embry's brow knit. Did Jacob really think he was that selfish… or _scared_? Sure, some deep ugly part of him just wanted to wrap her in his arms and forget about complications, but he wasn't that son of a bitch. Never had been and wouldn't start now.

Jacob turned back around, popping off the cap with an idle thumb and tossing it into the sink with a clatter while intense eyes took inventory. It was then Embry understood: he was _fishing_ – trying to figure out just how the imprint was affecting both him and his judgment.

The Pack had certainly seen their fair share of insanity - from Sam's accident to Quil's parent-freaking obsession to Jared's shameful seduction when good-girl Kim had wanted wait until they were married to Jacob nearly starting an all-out war. Wolves were notoriously psycho-possessive, volatile assholes when it came to their mates.

Embry had found out yesterday that even Brady was struggling with being slammed into the friend zone for the moment by a long-distance boyfriend – luckily he was young enough to handle it. The farther they got into manhood, the more complicated shit seemed to get.

Jacob knew that personally, didn't he?

His lips hitched up on one side as he tipped another sip of beer past them. "I was thinking that if we didn't know more by summer, I'd drive her out there to see if she recognized anything."

Jacob's eyes darted over his face for a moment and then he nodded and leaned back against the refrigerator. He licked his lips, still testing, "Paul's going to be here tonight…"

Just the name made Embry's molars grind together. "It'll be fine," he said quietly and then took a swig of beer to wash the bad taste out of his mouth. He swallowed with a little smack. " 'Cause you're going to Order his fucking mouth shut."

"Deal," Jacob sniffed and tipped his bottle up with a slosh. "So you're doing okay with all this?"

"Yes," Embry held his gaze. So much more than okay it wasn't even funny. This seventh degree was understandable considering how he'd lost his shit last night, but it was fucking annoying too and he wanted it over.

He knew the best was still to come.

Jacob's eyes skittered thoughtfully across the floor as he took another gulp of beer. "Emb, I hate to have to talk to you about this…" he murmured and then looked up and met his gaze with steady eyes.

_Here it comes._

Embry froze in his idle fidgeting with the bottle. "Then don't," he bit out quietly.

Heaving out a heavy sigh, Jacob lowered the bottle to his side. "I gotta, man," he whispered. "She's my responsibility too and -…"

"No," Embry shook his head curtly. "She's _mine_."

Jacob blinked, an expression of almost relief flitting over his face at the term. Like suddenly he knew what to do with all this.

"She's my responsibility to _protect_," Embry amended in a hiss.

"I know," Jacob crooned, like his wolf was losing his shit.

Embry wanted to punch him in the mouth.

"But you gotta make sure you're not putting yourself in a situation where you could lose control," he continued quietly. "Like Jared."

"I'm _nothing _like Jared," Embry's face crumpled in unguarded disgust. He'd never be so weak as to take advantage of her like Jared had done with his new imprint.

"I know," Jacob soothed again.

Maybe Embry would just go ahead and do it – punching him in his face, just might shut him up.

Brusquely setting the bottle on the table with a harsh clack, he shoved his hands through his hair. He needed to rein himself in. He knew this hair-trigger rage was part and parcel of the imprint –and an unsealed one at that – and he'd just have to deal with it. Punching Jake would be gratifying but would just confirm every last (wrong) assumption that was fueling his Alpha's lecture. He had to be better than this.

_For her._

"Look, I want you guys to stay here for a while," Jacob continued quietly, like he was tiptoeing out onto thin ice (he was). "She can sleep upstairs. We still have a bed set up in the baby's room and-…"

"**No**," Embry growled. _Easy_…_keep it together asshole. _

Jacob pushed off the refrigerator, wary eyes darting over his face. "Emb-…"

"I'm _not_ talking to you about this," Embry cut in with razor words – the beer wasn't doing shit today.

"Emb, she's fucking _three years old_!" Jacob snarled.

Embry's body seized like he'd stuck his finger in a socket. This _was_ one of the most disturbing things he'd learned this afternoon: when Old Quil asked her how old she was, she didn't seem to understand.

Then he'd asked her how many winters she'd seen…

Chanté had splayed out a hand and carefully counted three graceful digits with an index finger. Disbelieving, the elder asked her how many Springs… and she'd carefully counted out four. And at the time, the only thing Embry could do with the information was appreciate that he now knew the approximate time of her birth.

The rest simply blew his mind.

Over the rest of the interrogation, he tried to wrap his head around it and ended up with a tangled ball of guilt. However, in the bedroom, that self-disgust had evaporated when she'd turned up with swollen teary eyes and begged for a kiss. He'd obliged, meeting those lips with reassurance wrapped in tenderness, while she suckled it down with hungry sighs - like a strong woman seeking the comfort of mate and nothing like a vulnerable child.

Was it disconcerting that she was only three years in this world? Of course, if he thought with his _human_ mind. But Embry had decided this morning that he wasn't going to let his past get in the way.

And his past was human, his imprint was not.

Embry's nostrils flared. "So?" he challenged his Alpha across the kitchen.

"See!" Jacob gestured roughly at him, like all of his worst fears had just come true. "This is just the kind of fucking _bullshit_ I can't have on my shift. And I am **not **gonna have another Kim on my watch," he ground out. "What the fuck would you do if Quil-…"

Embry threw himself off the bench. "**STOP!**" his bellow sliced through the kitchen like a sword.

Jacob froze, lips jumping up from his teeth as his muscles engaged with a snap and quiver.

Fearlessly facing his Alpha down, he bared his own canines in warning.

Jacob's eyes pushed into crescents as he battled his beast. He growled, "_The wolf-…"_

Embry stomped one step closer and Jacob wisely shut his fucking mouth. They all said '_the wolf this, the wolf that…_' it was a fucking lame-assed excuse, if you asked him. The wolf was part of who they were, so it was their responsibility, end of story.

Embry might just be the only one in the Pack who understood that.

He brought his voice down to an icy croon. "I am **not** Jared. And I'm not _Quil_," his face buckled in disgust - just one step down that road made him want to hurl. Embry licked his lips, and then drove his point home with crisp, pointed words. "_And I'm not **you** either_."

The way his parry obviously staked Jacob's heart made him regret it immediately. Embry knew all the most painful cards to play for each of his Packmates… and he usually avoided them at all costs.

But Jacob had pushed him too far.

His Alpha whipped around, slamming his beer to the counter and then wiped his palms over his face.

Ashamed of himself, Embry sat back down on the bench, grabbing up his beer and draining it in an effort to give the man the privacy to get himself together. Jacob heaved in a breath that lifted his shoulders and then expelled it in a harsh hiss.

In his periphery, Embry watched Jacob turn over his shoulder. "Yeah, that's _just_ the kind of shit I'm talking about," he hissed, self-derision dripping from the words.

Embry peered down into the bottom of his empty bottle. "You _haven't_ talked about it," he whispered. And he _needed_ to… Embry knew. He _always_ fucking knew.

Jacob stared at him for a moment and then huffed out a breath and crossed to the refrigerator. He roughly yanked it open and pulled out two more beers, even though his sat half-full on the counter.

Letting the door clatter closed behind him, he flicked off a cap with each thumb and the deadly aim that sent them both clanging into the sink across the kitchen. He stalked slowly toward where Embry was blindly considering the label of his beer.

Jacob offered out a bottle and Embry looked up into his tired eyes. Setting his empty on the table he took it with a muttered, "Thanks."

Blowing a breath out from his cheeks, Jacob collapsed heavily on the bench a few feet away and both men tipped up long gulps. His Alpha slumped over his lap, bracing his forearms on his thighs as he bowed his head and restlessly turned the bottle in his hand, trying to find his macho footing on shaky ground

Watching him out of the corner of his eye, Embry took another swig. And waited.

"God, Emb, I'm such a _fucking asshole_," Jacob sighed quietly.

"Only sometimes," Embry sniffed, trying to lighten him up.

Jacob punched him in the arm halfheartedly and Embry glanced at him with a wry smile. This Alpha rolled his eyes and hunched over his lap.

Embry leaned back, propping his elbows behind him again and leaned into another sip of beer – even if it didn't do shit when it counted, it was still a most excellent distraction.

"It was when those three parasites were fucking with us," Jacob began so quietly, a human ear would have missed it. "We'd just taken down the dread-locked leech and I came home all high on fucking adrenaline."

Embry didn't react. Like he was waiting for the bus or something, his gaze fell to the floor before him as he opened up the space for his friend to open up.

Jacob drew in a deep breath through his nose and then wrapped his lips around the bottle and upended it, sucking down drags that made bubbles race behind amber. He swallowed with a quiet gasp. "I hadn't seen her in, like, two days," he sniffed a humorless laugh and then shook his head slowly. "And I could _scent_ she'd forgotten her pills. With all the stress…"

Jacob's lips twisted into a grimace as he glanced his way.

Keeping his face carefully neutral, Embry's gaze stayed trained on the cracks in the linoleum while he slowly swished his bottle and then took a sip.

Jacob sighed again as his eyes turned to the beer in a hand that was subtly shaking. "Y'know, Bells always had this thing about marriage 'cause of her parents," he murmured, tracing a finger over the label. "She didn't wanna get marked either because it felt too much like the same bullshit," he spat, picking agitatedly at the paper corner.

Embry turned into another gulp of beer, sneaking a peek at Jacob's profile. His face was etched in self-derision… and regret.

"And I thought-…" his lips hitched up in a disgusted sneer. "I _didn't_ think." He closed his eyes and then clenched them tightly over thoughts.

"Not with the right head, anyway," Embry murmured, trying to tow him through the rapids.

Jacob barked a laugh, glancing at him and meeting his eye. "Exactly."

Embry gave him a small smile and then his eyes swept back to the floor.

"_God_, Emb," he spat under his breath. "I mean I took her every chance I got. Made sure to screw up her morning routine." He closed his eyes and tipped up his beer, audibly gulping it down to the bottom. He slammed the bottle on the bench beside him. " 'Even hid her pills behind the shaving cream," he coughed a disgusted laugh. "Sick shit like that," he turned back with agonized eyes.

Embry looked up, pressing his lips together – that _was_ some sick shit.

Jacob seemed grateful he wasn't rushing in to try to convince him otherwise. Pushing a sigh from pursed lips he leaned back, propping his arms behind him as he looked up at the ceiling.

"It wasn't until after we took out the blond and the red-head ran away two days later, that she remembered," he spoke quietly to the sky. "She came to me with these fucking scared eyes, like I was gonna be mad or something," he spoke the words numbly as he shook his head back and forth. "Like it was her fault."

A burst of heat ignited in his gut. Embry tried to keep his voice even, "Did you tell her?"

"Yes," Jacob glanced at him with ruined eyes. "And you shoulda seen her face."

Embry's gaze washed over that self-contempt.

"She wouldn't let me touch her for _two weeks_," Jacob whispered as their eyes met. Slumping back over his thighs he pushed his hands through his hair and clawed into his crown. "And the rest is history," he spat. "Bella being Bella, she eventually forgave me, she kept the baby, she wants to get marked after he's born… we got married."

"What?" Embry flipped the words out through his teeth.

Jacob released his hair and cut his eyes over as he propped his forearms on his thighs. "Down at city hall… only our parents know."

"Why didn't you-…"

Jacob sat up, stopping him with a look. "_She_ wanted it that way - 'wanted it to be a personal thing… between _us_. She wants to celebrate after the mark, and how could I _not_ give her that? I got everything I wanted and she…? She got _me_," he spat hatefully.

Brows furrowing, Embry pushed off the table, turning more toward his agonized Alpha. "But you're what she wants, Jake," he whispered, leaning down and propping his forearms on his thighs as he looked intensely into suffering eyes. "Yeah, it's all pretty fucked up," he wrinkled the side of his nose. "But she's _happy_. I've never seen her happier, actually, and you know I watch."

Jacob rolled his lips as his gaze fell uncertainly to the floor.

"So, yeah… you fucked up big time," Embry murmured. "But lucky for you, your mate rocks…"

Jacob's lips spread in a sickeningly sappy smile. "She rocks so hard."

Embry sniffed a laugh at his expression. "So maybe that's what she needed too?"

Jacob eyes snapped over like lasers.

"I'm not saying it shouldn't have gone down different," he amended with a lift of his brow. "But Bella's where she needs to be right now. Maybe she was scared to commit. To take what was hers…"

Brows furrowing, Jacob cocked his head.

Embry sat up, snatching his beer. After Jacob had shared such personal pain, part of him felt like he should reciprocate with some of his own struggles from the day. But it just wasn't going to happen.

Embry had always been private, and there was _no way in hell_ he was going to disrespect Chanté and talk about how innocently open she was about sex. Their intimacy was for them alone to figure out… and cherish.

The best he could offer was some of his own personal trials…

"I mean look at me," Embry continued quietly. "I was so fucking used to having nothing, I didn't even _know_ I'd imprinted, how fucked up is that?"

Jacob's brow fell in aching empathy. "Emb, jeezis, I'm so sorry I've been-…"

"And I figured out I've been pushing other shit away too," Embry cut him off. "Including you."

Blinking, Jacob's eyes darted over his meaningful stare.

Embry's gaze fell between them as he slowly licked his lips. "If I'd have come to you, you'd have been there, Jake," he whispered and then looked back up from under his lashes. "You've always been like a brother."

Eyes softening, Jacob offered him a smile. "I love you, man," he breathed – like only he could do and not sound like a total pussy. "And I feel shitty about turning my back."

Embry's lips hitched up on one side as his gaze fell to the floor. "It's not your fault."

"I'm management, so everything's my fault," Jacob sniffed, his voice inadvertently trolling its bass. "But I can handle it."

Glancing back up, Embry's smile evened out as he sat back. "You handle _a lot_ of shit, Jake."

He rolled his eyes as he snatched his beer back up off the bench. "Some shit better than others," he snorted and took a sip. "But I got your back now, Emb," his gaze cut down as he swallowed loudly. "And I want you to know: I'll give you whatever I can. Whatever you need."

Embry's lips spread in a saccharine smile. "Including your fucking muzzle out of my business?"

Jacob barked a laugh and took another swig of beer.

Embry grabbed his own bottle. "Look, I got this," he told him, taking a quick squeaking sip. "And if I get stuck, I'll ask," he met his eyes meaningfully. "Whatever we decide, it'll be _our_ decision – mine and Swee-… _Chanté's_." He couldn't help the way just the feel of her name on his lips made his heart flip.

Jacob heard it, of course. His lips curved with a private smile.

Embry flicked his eyes up and took another gulp of beer.

"I'm so fucking happy for you, Emb," Jacob whispered. "You deserve this."

"I don't _deserve_ shit," Embry gasped as he lowered his bottle. "But you'd better believe I'm gonna earn it."

Jacob's smile slipped wry as his eyes flitted over Embry's face for a moment. Then he clacked his bottle down as he pushed both hands through his hair. "Fuck!" he groaned to the ceiling. "I just got schooled!"

Embry's face cracked in a grin.

He slapped his palms on his thighs. "It's always the quiet ones…" Jacob muttered petulantly out of the corner of a smile.

"Yep," Embry's grin slipped sideways into a leer.

Jacob was just opening his mouth for some kind of bratty comeback when his phone buzzed in his jeans. Popping his mouth closed again, he pulled it from his pocket.

His face transformed immediately. "Shit, it's Rache," he gasped, standing while his eyes stayed locked on the screen. "Hold up, I gotta take this."

Embry took a swig of beer as he watched his Alpha pace across the floor, lifting the phone to his cheek. "Rache," he whispered. "How's it going?"

Embry could hear her uncomfortable reply on the other end of the line and quickly tuned it out. Standing, he left his bottle on the table and crossed to the refrigerator – he was starving again. While Jacob braced a hand against the sink and stared out over the yard, listening to his sister, Embry pulled out a tupperware of leftover roast and returned to the bench.

"Honey, just come home," Jacob crooned, shamelessly trying to lace the edict with compulsion.

He doubted it would work – Rachel had been devastated by her mother's death and hadn't been back since she'd left.

Rachel and Rebecca were twins only in the biological sense of the word. Even though they were fraternal, they looked enough alike that people usually guessed, but that's where the similarities ended. Like Jacob, Becca was a charismatic extrovert who'd stolen the show all their lives. Under her sister's shadow, Rachel had been stunted into a quiet and bitter girl who was nothing, if not practical. While her sister sailed off to Hawaii to marry an equally sunny surfer, Rachel had gotten a degree in computer engineering, and gotten an equally serious job in Silicon Valley.

Over the last few years, she'd gotten stuck in a relationship with a domineering asshole who capitalized on Rachel's insecurities – or so Jacob said.

Embry shoved several slices of meat into his mouth, chewing the cold mouthful only to feed his hunger while he tried _not_ to listen in to the siblings' conversation.

"You don't have to go back to dad's," Jacob murmured. "We' got an empty room. You can live with me an' Bells until you get back on your feet."

The offer made Embry freeze from where he was trying to down his mouthful – it made him focus painfully on his own plight. He couldn't hide out with Chanté here forever, but he certainly wouldn't take her home.

"No, I know you're not," Jacob quickly amended as he pushed off the counter and paced along it toward the back door. "But honey, you can do your job remotely, right?" He tore it open and stepped out on the porch – the screen door was still… splintered and laying out in the yard.

But Embry couldn't and wouldn't tackle every problem on the books today. He'd have to find them another place eventually – and figure out how the hell he could pay for both when he lived hand-to-mouth as it was.

But not now.

'

Sitting in the guest room chair, Embry made quick work of the rest of the leftovers and then closed the container and set it on the floor as his eyes stayed locked on the woman sleeping on the bed. With hunger abated – at least for a few minutes – he sat back and _watched_.

It was the most beautiful thing in the world to see her face at peace. When he'd come into the room there had been the slightest pucker between her brows, but as soon as he'd shut the door it had smoothed out to serene. Some part of her knew he was there and it made her feel safe and relaxed, even with those dark shadows over her past.

It made him feel important and needed – things he'd wanted to feel all his life.

So for the next hour, he soaked up her scent and the sumptuous beat of her heart while he listened to Bella awake from upstairs and come down to quiet conversation with her mate in the kitchen.

His Pack began trickling in, one by one, for dinner and the meeting before shifts began again after sunset. Of course, at this rate, maybe she'd sleep through it with him at her side. Embry found himself thinking that that might be just perfect.

But, as if on cue, Quil arrived with his usual exuberance and the slam of the front door.

That steady heartbeat lunged into a sprint and Chanté's eyes popped open while Embry cursed his Packmate on all fronts. With a soft cry, she pushed off the mattress as her frantic gaze washed over the empty bed and then out into the room.

They snapped to where Embry had momentarily frozen in the chair.

"Shh," he soothed, pushing to his feet as he held that disoriented gaze. "It's okay."

Long lashes fluttered with several blinks as Embry slowly slunk to the bed.

She drew in a long breath and then sighed quietly, "Emmie."

"I'm here," he murmured lowering himself down on the edge of the mattress. She sat up more, rubbing her eyes with the back of her wrist like a sleepy little kid.

It was adorable. He could wake up to this every morning of his life.

He hoped he did.

Embry reached out and smoothed a palm over her cheek as he searched bleary eyes. "How are you feeling?" he whispered.

Huge soulful eyes looked up and met his and he could see it: pain. He _always_ saw it and he was so fucking glad. Her gaze dipped back down with a small courageous nod and she scooted closer, resting her forehead on his shoulder.

Maybe she _had_ blocked out the horrors of that first night and Old Quil's interrogation had just brought them front and center. Embry stroked slowly over her hair while she silently leaned against him for a moment. "Chanté?" he breathed.

She picked her head up at her name, a smile fluttering freely over full lips.

And then she was climbing into his lap. His body did all kinds of crazy things and he ignored every one of them as she straddled him, her dress shamelessly hiking up long lissome thighs. Clutching her hands under her chin, she leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulders.

She felt vulnerable in his arms and he was furious at his body's reaction. His heart rate spiked, pumping blood into his crotch and making dick spring into painful action. He shifted uncomfortably under her against borrowed jeans that were tight with his new growth anyway and now felt like a vise.

Leaving her hands on his chest, Chanté looked up at him with questions and he pried his attention from his throbbing balls.

"Are you feeling sad?" he whispered, cocking his head. He smoothed a hand over her hair that had slithered out of her braid in a soft halo around her face.

Her brows pushed together in confusion.

"Sad?" Embry frowned theatrically and his finger drew a line down his cheek in a mime of the meaning.

That brow still furrowed, she shook her head quickly, almost like it was an insult.

Embry's hand stilled in her hair.

Eyes holding his intensely, she licked her lips – obviously wanting to say more than her limited vocabulary allowed. One hand left his chest and graceful fingers touched her heart. "Hurts," she whispered.

He nodded soberly, while his eyes darted over her face, trying to understand what else she was struggling to say.

Her other hand reached out and smoothed over his heart and she leaned up. He automatically bowed his head to touch her nose. "Emmie," she sighed in a billow over his face.

And he instantly forgot all about understanding.

His bones melted along with his muscles as his lips slid into a sappy smile. She smiled along with him and then rolled down and brushed honey lips over his. Pulling away with the cling of skin, she then tipped her head and caressed his mouth again.

Just her taste turned his blood into liquid ecstasy and he was flying high.

But he reined in his body and let the kiss unfurl between them, slow and gentle, the soft moist smacks of skin sparkling in privacy of their bedroom. Her fingers smoothed over his shoulders as their hearts whispered in the play of their lips and Embry's hands stiffened on her back, fighting to keep from crushing her to him and taking more.

But she leaned in and offered it anyway, pressing her little body into his chest as she scooted up his lap…

And then jerked to a stop. Ripping the kiss apart with a gasp, she looked down between their bodies at the hard ridge of flesh that had pressed into her stomach while Embry panted like a racehorse.

He put everything he had into _not_ flinching as a hand slipped down his chest and fingers brushed over the painful bulge in his jeans. Even through denim, that light touch was like a taser and Embry hashed a hiss through his teeth.

Chanté's eyes snapped up to his. "Hurts?" she whispered.

Gulping down a swallow, he nodded but caught her in his arms as she tried to climb off his lap. "But it's okay," he breathed through a soft smile. "You make me feel good."

Her eyes lit up and she nodded eagerly.

Embry's brow furrowed as her hand lifted to settle over her heart. "Hurts," she told him earnestly and then that hand ferried across the distance to splay over his heart. "But iss okay. You ma-… make-…" she wrinkled her nose, defeated by too many new words.

Embry face inflated with awed understanding. She wasn't _blocking_ out the past, she was appreciating the _present_. _This_ is what she was trying to say.

It was one of those moments so profound, that everything ground to a halt. He looked into still, quiet eyes, open clear down to her soul without a single pretense standing in the way.

She was fucking amazing.

Chanté's head flowed to the side. "You-…" she tried to cue him out of his stupor.

Embry blinked. "It hurts," he brought his palm around to her heart and then ferried the hand to his own chest, stringing the words together for her. "But I make you feel better."

Her brows knit. "Bet-ter?"

Smoothing his hand over her cheek, he nodded. "More than the hurt," he whispered.

As her face cracked in a smile, she nodded enthusiastically then carefully tried the words on. "You… make me… feewl … bet-ter…"

He leaned in and pressed a cashmere kiss to her forehead. "I'm glad," he breathed reverently over her skin.

An explosion of laughter from the kitchen made her whip around toward the door. He smoothed a reassuring hand over her back and she turned to him with questions

"Your _optáye_," he pronounced carefully. "Your Pack."

"Pack," she repeated.

Embry nodded with a smile. He'd made sure to snatch that word from Old Quil's vocabulary as he probed around for what she understood. In Lakota the word for herd and pack were the same. It was very convenient.

Another burst of laughter, punctuated by Quil's cackles had her slipping off his lap and turning toward the door. Embry pushed up to his feet, taking a second to adjust his rock hard body, and then stepped up behind her. He'd definitely grown taller – he could gauge it easily now, standing behind the standard against which he'd measure his worth for the rest of his life.

Glancing over her shoulder, she slipped her hand into his and pulled him toward the door.

Embry showed her the bathroom down the hall and then retreated back to lean against the guest room doorway in an attempt to give her at least the illusion of privacy, though she didn't seem to need it. She'd tried to pull him in with her, but he'd drawn that line too.

_Lines. Fucking lines. _

But like he'd told Jacob, he had this. His heart had always been a merciless master.

He listened to the animated chatter coming from the kitchen, in spite of Bella's intermittent shushes. Trying to keep a Pack of wolves quiet was mission impossible, even for their Alpha.

And he expected this was part of Jacob's plan anyway: to get them up and into the mix. He was masterful at holding a Pack of raging wolves and damaged men together and he'd generously insulated them for long enough.

It was time.

Embry hadn't faced his Pack after the fight with Paul yet and he idly wondered how it would feel with his _imprint_ now at his side.

Holy mother of shit. He'd _imprinted_. It was finally starting to sink in.

And it change _everything_.

Suddenly the enormity of this next step slammed into him like a mack truck. So far, he'd been so focused on _her_, that he hadn't really processed much else. With all the events of the last 24 hours he felt like he'd simply stepped _out_ of his life, instead of having it transform before his eyes.

Well, now he was about to step back into it…

And he was a changed man.

His life had be repurposed and he wasn't going to be content with waiting for the scraps anymore. His Pack was just going to have to get used to it.

The bathroom door opened then and Chanté peeked out, turning her supernatural ear into the sound of his heartbeat. Smiling softly, he pushed off the doorframe as she stepped out of the bathroom and his body seized.

She'd unbound her braid and brushed it out and it fell in shining rippling satin over one side and down to her thigh. God she was so incredibly beautiful.

And she didn't seem to care on bit. She absently pushed her hair behind her shoulder as she stepped into his embrace.

"You ready?" he whispered, inhaling her scent and relishing the way it instantly settled his anxiety. Everything would be okay. He _had_ this.

Picking her cheek up from his chest, she looked up with an open face and quiet eyes.

Embry tipped his chin down the hall and repeated, "You ready, Chanté?"

Blinking her understanding, she nodded.

Embry wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her down the hall. As soon as they were in sight of the kitchen, the room fell silent, every eye turning their way as they made their way across the living room. Chanté shrank into his side and he rubbed a reassuring hand down her arm.

He leaned down to her temple. "Your _optáye_," he murmured.

They stopped in the doorway ad she pulled her eyes from a room crowded with huge muscled men. "Pack," she whispered.

He nodded with a smile.

"Hi Chanté," Bella jumped into action as she turned from the counter.

The girl swung a bright smile out to the approaching woman. With another glance up at Embry, Chanté stepped out from under his arm and tipped down her chin. With a soft smile, Bella touched noses.

"So you know some of these monsters already," she threw a smirk over her shoulder at Embry as she wrapped an arm around her waist and brought the girl into the room.

Kim was stepping up to bat, pulling her mate along with her. "You remember Jared?"

"Hey, Chanté," he lifted a hand as Kim smiled and swung the other between them. "Holy shit, Emb, did you _grow_ _again_?" he gaped.

Embry shrugged a nonchalant shoulder.

Levi popped up from the table and strode to his side.

"Wee-vi," Chanté greeted him – still struggling with "L's."

The boy smiled and repeated his name, exaggerating the pronunciation. "La-… Llleevi."

Chanté tried again, "Lee-vi." And the boy nodded.

Bella pulled her toward where Quil and Collin had gotten up from the table.

Embry shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned against the doorframe to keep from trailing her like some control-freak bodyguard. He wanted to give her the space to explore.

"Do you remember Quil from earlier?" Bella asked her. They hadn't really been officially introduced but Chanté nodded, offering a small smile.

"Hey-ho," Quil raised a hand and then yanked his thumb at his compadre. "And this dude's Collin."

And Embry pushed off his perch with a flash of heat.

The boy was staring, slack-jawed and star-struck. Of course, as an imprint he saw her as a sister, but that didn't mean he couldn't appreciate her beauty… and like the little horny cub he was, he was doing nothing to hide it.

Quil glanced up at the Embry's movement and his mouth hitched up in a smirk at the same time he elbowed the kid hard.

Collin stumbled a step with the force and snapped out of it with a hoarse, "Hi." And then blushed like a plumb.

Chanté turned over her shoulder with a smile for Embry that was private and most definitely at the boy's expense. It was just the thing he needed to tear his eyes away from contemplating murder.

When she turned back, Quil was dragging the boy to the refrigerator for a drink.

"Hi Chanté," Nina stepped up with Seth on her heel.

"Nina," the girl smiled.

"Right!" she said brightly. "And this is my mate, Seth."

Grinning ear-to-ear, Seth stretched out his hand and Chanté tentatively touched his fingers. He pulled them into his grip with a theatrical flourish over them.

"En-Chanté," he crooned like the dork he was as he bent and pressed his lips to her knuckles.

With a squeak, she yanked her it back, horror inflating eyes stuck on her hand.

A low growl exploded from deep in Embry's gut and he took menacing stomps forward, fully intending to rip those lax "_oh shit_" lips off the boy's face.

But his imprint intercepted him, whipping around and holding out her fingers and a stricken expression. Embry crossed the distance in two steps and took her trembling hand in his own, raising it to his mouth and kissing the transgression away with several soft smacks.

She released a traumatized breath as she leaned into him and Embry wrapped his arms around her. He would have generously ignored Seth's boyish antics if it weren't for her reaction. The touch of his mouth to her skin had obviously deeply offended her, and Embry had to admit that some sick little part of him was gratified.

His imprint turned her cheek and stared out of the corner of her eye at where Seth was spluttering an apology.

"You are such an _ass_," Nina laughed and cuffed him playfully in the back of the head.

But Chanté jumped, round eyes darting up to Embry's like she couldn't believe it. It was adorable and touching but she was obviously upset.

"Shh," he soothed, hands coming up to smooth back the hair on either side of her face as he cupped her head. "They're just playing," he whispered into those wide eyes and then leaned down to tenderly rub her nose.

It all just made it crystal clear what culture shock she was so quietly enduring. And how gentle she was. Embry _loved_ gentle.

Pulling her to his chest with a protective palm, his impugning eyes swept up to skewer his Pack, frozen in almost comical bewilderment.

With a flare of nostrils, Embry met Jacob's eye where he was lounged back in the corner by the refrigerator, watching how his Pack reacted to the new dynamic. At Embry's cue, he pushed off the counter.

"Seth and Collin," his bass rippled over the room and Chanté shivered and pushed her face into his chest.

Embry purred soothingly as Jacob's troubled eyes flitted over her. He then met Embry's as he spoke to his two wolves. "Since they're up," he continued, softening his voice into a felty bass. "You two can start on that screen door now."

It was something obviously pre-planned – his Alpha had predicted who might need to be taken out of the mix. It could never be said that Jacob Black didn't know how to run a Pack.

Embry would have guessed Quil would be the problem, but sometimes the guy surprised him (and Jacob had probably threatened him within an inch of his life). Seth was a good kid, but he was like an overgrown and exuberant puppy with no fucking respect for personal boundaries… obviously.

Wolves needed direction and action and the two in question quickly jumped to the job, gratefully hustling across the room to the back door. Part of Embry was chagrinned, feeling it should be _he_ who replaced the screen since he'd kicked his Alpha through it… but he was pleased to find it was pretty fucking small part.

These moments were _his_.

"Why don't you guys turn on the game," Jacob suggested-commanded the other wolves who'd apparently decided to just stare dumbly at Embry and his imprint. "Dinner's not for another forty."

Embry pulled Chanté to the side as Jared, Levi and Quil obediently headed for the living room and some Sunday afternoon baseball.

As men hustled out of the room and Bella wrapped her arms around her mate with comforting kisses, Emily left her post at the counter and crossed toward them.

"Hey Chanté?"

At the familiar voice, his imprint picked her head up.

"Do you want to help me?" the woman smiled.

"Help?" her lips curved tentatively but her hands stayed firmly fisted in Embry's shirt.

"Uh huh," Emily stopped right in front of them. "I'm making a salad."

Chanté glanced up at him and he nodded encouragingly and she turned out of his arms but grabbed his hand in a death-grip on the way. Embry agreed… enough exploring for the day.

He felt like the same possessive asshole he saw in his brothers and it irritated him, but this shit was _hard_. Especially when she was so vulnerable.

Chanté leaned in and Emily smiled broadly and greeted her with a touch to her nose. The woman's eyes darted up to Embry like she was pleased – Embry was taking careful notes too. Apparently Chanté felt most comfortable with Bella and Emily so far.

Holding his imprint's hand he followed the two women toward the counter where Emily had just taken out several tomatoes.

"First we have to wash them," she told her as she turned on the water and checked the temperature. She pulled one of the red fruits off the counter and rubbed it under the faucet in demonstration. "Wash."

"Shower?" Chanté asked brightly.

"Mm hmm," Emily nodded. "Just like that."

With an excited glance at Embry, Chanté released his hand and took the tomato and copied Emily's movements, washing it almost reverently, like it was the most important job in the world.

Emily smiled softly as she stepped to Embry's side. "Emb you _have_ grown, I swear," she cocked her head thoughtfully. "I think you're as tall as Sam now."

"Maybe," he shrugged a dismissive shoulder. The Pack all hovered somewhere between Levi's 6'2 and Sam's 6'6 with Jacob topping out an inch later – he didn't see how it mattered. Except he was starving again, but there was no way he was leaving her side.

"Just put it on the counter again," Emily stepped in at Chanté's questioning glance over her shoulder. "Good job," she lauded gently as the girl took up the next tomato and studiously went about cleaning it.

Emily stroked an affectionate hand over the girl's hair, crimped from the braid and rippling down her back. "She's doing so good, Emb," she met his eye.

He nodded, unable to keep the pride from his lips.

"Y'know," she murmured pensively, turning back to the girl and continuing to smooth her hand over her hair. "Through all this stuff, she's never stared at my scars – not even _once_?"

Embry blinked, stepping up on Chanté's other side. "Why would she?" he asked her quietly.

He knew some of the damage under those scars still hadn't healed. Even though she adored her mate, Emily was painfully self-conscious about her face and almost never went beyond the confines of family and Pack. He hated that she felt that way.

Emily watched the girl gently place the tomato on the counter and then pick up the last one to wash. "C'mon, Emb," she sniffed bitterly, flicking her eyes up to meet his.

"You're beautiful, Emily," Embry whispered. She was to anyone who could look past imperfections in a shell, and Chanté most certainly did.

Chanté looked up at him and then turned. She nodded soberly and then handed the woman the last tomato.

Emily's eyes were suddenly glistening. "_God_, you two…" she sniffled, turning with the fruit and pacing down the counter with a quick swipe across her cheeks.

Embry watched her go as he pulled a towel off the hook and handed it to Chanté. She turned up to him with pain in her eyes. "Hurts," she whispered, cannily just under human hearing.

He nodded with a press of lips.

Bella stepped away from Jacob's side where they were silently watching them. "Sam and Brady should be back from their shift soon," she announced a little too brightly. "Then we can start setting the table. The lasagna's going to be another half hour though. I made a veggie one too."

Embry glanced at her with a grateful nod.

Emily had recovered and turned around with a cutting board. "Do you think she's up for learning how to slice?"

"What do you think Chanté?" Embry murmured, stroking a hand down her arm where she'd leaned back into him. "Do you want to help some more?"

She picked her head up off his shoulder and turned with a sober little nod.

"C'mon, I'll show you," he smiled.

He picked up the two tomatoes and led her down the counter to where Emily had placed the plastic cutting board and bowl. "Knife," he pulled the tool out of the block and flicked his finger on the edge. "It's sharp. Ouch." He shook his hand theatrically and she quickly grabbed it in concern, examining his fingers.

Embry chuckled and pulled free, dropping the knife and wrapping her in his arms in front of him. He placed a kiss to the top of her head and she immediately relaxed back into him with a contented sigh that made him feel awesome.

Embry smoothed his hands over hers and then reached out and set a tomato down on the cutting board. "We need to slice the tomato," he murmured by her ear as he picked up the knife and sliced the fruit in half while she watched attentively.

Holding the blade, he offered her the handle and tentative fingers slid over the wood. Embry gently slipped his hand over hers and then reached around and picked up her other and placed it on the tomato, caging her in his arms. Hunching down to rest his chin on her shoulder, he carefully steered the knife to chop off the top.

"See?" he whispered.

"Yes," Chanté turned into his cheek, nuzzling him sweetly. It was pure heaven.

Smiling, he guided her hand to make the first slice from the side. And then the next.

"Like this," he told her quietly, straightening as he slowly releasing both hands. She turned and nodded with a bright smile. "Try it," he tipped his chin toward the cutting board as he folded around her and leaned against the counter.

She turned her attention to the tomato again and situated the knife in her hand. Two pearly teeth bit into that plump lower lip as she gingerly cut another slice that was precisely as thick as his demonstration.

She blinked up at him, waiting for his judgment. Embry grinned broadly and nodded before reaching out and snatching up the discarded top. He popped it in his mouth and chewed to the music of her giggle.

And so over the next half an hour, one of Embry's most intimate dreams was fulfilled: watching his mate in the kitchen.

Leaning down and propping his forearms over the counter, he watched as his imprint meticulously sliced each perfect sliver of tomato while she bit down on a smile and graced him with glances from under those long curling lashes. He was mesmerized.

While baseball in the other room droned on over the power screwdriver buzzing on the porch, the other women chatted softly and moved around the kitchen while his Alpha watched from the table and drank his beer.

But Embry was lost in their private world. Chanté would answer one of the women's questions but always bring her eyes and smiles back to him.

It made him feel important and needed and everything he'd always wanted to be.

Embry closed his eyes softly just steeping in the feeling. And the realization hit him hard: even though it had been only a little more than a day with her, he felt …

_Loved_.

How could that be possible?

A cool slice of tomato was pressed against his lips then and his eyes popped open to Chanté's smile. "Eat," she whispered.

His mouth pounced, playfully capturing her fingers with his lips and she shrieked, pulling them free with a tinkling laugh. Embry chewed the slice under a juicy grin. One thing was for certain: this was the best fucking tomato in the history of man.

Chanté was now on to the second fruit – she wasn't setting any speed records, but who the fuck cared – and she made another exacting slice and offered it up to his mouth again with a theatrically timorous squint.

He was absolutely starving, but this was feeding a different hunger.

Wrapping gentle fingers around her wrist he held her hand steady and leaned in, switching from playful to patient. Instantly her face slipped into serious as he slowly wrapped his lips around the offered slice and suckled it from her fingers.

He wanted so badly to tell her he loved her and it just seemed way too soon. But he just thought he might. So he let his heart beat in each tender kiss to the pad of fingers as he screamed it from his gaze.

Chewing leisurely, he watched soft eyes dart back and forth between his, answering affection sparkling plainly.

"Emmie," she whispered, reaching out to his cheek. He relished her touch as her fingertips rode his chews for a moment and their eyes spoke of things for which neither of them had words.

Bella's phone went off in a musical alarm and Chanté snatched her fingers back with a gasp as she whipped around.

Bella was sitting beside Jacob on the other side of the table, both of them pretending they _weren't_ watching.

"Do you like this?" Bella smiled, holding up her iPhone and letting the harp's scale go on a little longer.

Embry chuckled at his imprint's delight as he pushed off the counter and into a kitchen emptied of all but his Alpha and mate. Long ago the screen door had been replaced and those two absorbed by the baseball game. The other women had gone upstairs to check Facebook on the computer.

"The lasagna's done?" Jacob asked as he stepped over the bench.

At his voice, Chanté stepped into Embry's side, but she didn't seem to be able to tear her eyes away from the device in Bella's hand.

"Here, give it to her," Bella murmured under her breath as she handed the cell off.

"Kinda like a bribe?" Jacob snorted, helping his mate up.

"Whatever works," she muttered, throwing Embry a wink.

Holding up the phone, Jacob skirted the table and slowly approached, trying to tone down that innate prowl, but only marginally succeeding.

Chanté's little fingers dug into Embry's bicep as she scooted halfway behind him.

"It's okay, sweetheart," he whispered, soothing a hand over hers on his arm. "Jake's a good guy. He's your Pack."

Doe-eyes darted up dubiously and he gave her a silky smile.

Jacob stopped several feet in front of them, a smile painted over the way everything about this bothered him. "Here you go, honey," he gentled his voice as the harp continued to sweep up and down its scale.

Apparently the allure of melody won out. Gripping his bicep tightly with one hand, Chanté reached out hesitantly with the other. Gaze locked with hers, Jacob carefully set the cell in her palm.

She pulled it back quickly. "Thank you, Jake," she whispered.

That plastic smile of his turned over into blinding sun. But his imprint didn't see it, her gaze was now locked in absolute awe at the device in her hand.

Embry chuckled at them both.

"It's gonna burn, Jake," Bella chucked across the kitchen.

Meeting Embry's gaze, Jacob sniffed with a roll of his eyes and turned toward the stove.

Chanté released him and slowly stepped back against the counter, cradling the cell in both palms while she gazed at it in wide-eyed wonder.

Embry leaned back against the counter beside her and she absently scooted into him until their arms were touching. "Music," he murmured.

Chanté looked up. "Moosic."

"Music," Embry repeated.

His imprint was too enthralled by exactly that to be bothered with words.

But suddenly the spell shattered.

A harsh jangling ring tore through Embry's ears and Chanté threw the phone with a shriek, diving for his chest. He caught it effortlessly with a long arm and lupine reflexes as he wrapped her tightly into him.

He clicked the sound off with his thumb as Bella grimaced and hurried across the kitchen for the phone. "Sorry," she mouthed.

Embry shook his head absently as he swaddled his imprint in both arms. "It's okay," he whispered into her ear.

Chanté nodded against him as she peeked out to where Bella was exasperatedly telling her mother they were just about to sit down to dinner… and, yes, she was feeling _fine_.

It was then that Embry noticed the wolves who'd gotten up off the couches and floors and were standing in the doorway of the kitchen.

Jacob did too, apparently. "C'mon, mutts," he growled, as he pulled the first pan out of the stove. "Quit staring and get in here and help."

As the usual pre-dinner bustle overtook the kitchen, Chanté watched for a moment and then with a glance at Embry, turned back to her meticulous tomato-cutting.

Deciding to help her along, he drew another knife from the block and started on the last one. She scooted closer, leaning her head on his shoulder as she carefully sliced. He was done with his tomato before she'd even finished her half, but it didn't seem to bother her – she continued her painstaking slices, humming the scale under her breath.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and watched her move on to her last half. It was so soothing to be around her. Like an eye in the hurricane of activity and chatter behind them, she was content to lean against him in their private little corner of the world and make her exacting slices – not worrying about time or what anyone else thought.

Embry was pretty damn sure he was in love.

The new screen opened exuberantly and Brady popped in to the anonymous greetings that rose around the kitchen.

Chanté turned as Bella swooped him up and guided him over to their spot at the counter. The boy shoved his hands shyly in his pockets.

"This is Brady," Bella introduced. "Bray, this is Chanté, Embry's imprint."

Chanté gifted him with a sparkling smile and he gave her one of his good-natured grins. "Heya, Chanté."

"How are things going with Kammie?" Bella asked him, her brow furrowing in concern.

"It's okay," he shrugged his shoulders up to his ears. "I think it's good to be friends again anyway. We haven't hung out in, like, two years."

Bella nodded encouragingly as Sam stomped his feet off on the porch, and then traipsed through the door. Emily set the dish on the table and rushed across the room to throw herself into his arms.

Chanté glanced over her shoulder and met Embry's gaze with a blinding smile and then started eagerly toward the couple … like she hadn't done with _anyone else_ in the Pack.

_Oh, shit._

His stomach dove for his toes as Embry pushed off the counter. Bella was also confused apparently as her gaze darted between them – this was the farthest Chanté had ventured from his side.

She flowed fearlessly up to the intimidating Sam Uley who was currently in the process of trying to swallow his mate whole. The two broke apart as she approached.

"Oh, sorry Chanté," Emily smiled, taking an embarrassed step back from her mate. "Let me introduce you to Sam."

Sam's stalwart mouth curved in a smile.

"Sam," Chanté repeated tipping her chin up in petition.

His brows flew together as his gaze snapped up to where Embry was prowling toward them, sensing imminent disaster… and jealous off his ass.

"Lean down, Sam," Emily tugged on his hand. Her attention fixed on Chanté, she hadn't noticed the tension between the two wolves. "I think she wants to touch noses."

Sam blinked and did what his imprint instructed and the girl leaned up and touched her nose briefly to his. That smile spread a little wider as he straightened and glanced at his mate.

"She's so sweet," Emily cooed affectionately.

Chanté turned around with a sunburst smile… that quickly slid off her face as she met Embry's eyes. She frowned in confusion as she danced the few steps toward him and wrapped and arm around his bicep.

A lissome finger pointed at the bewildered man standing by his mate. "Brother?" she asked quietly, concern furrowing her brow.

Still, it was instant. The kitchen dove into brittle silence.

Chanté's hand tightened on his arm as her wide eyes swept the room behind them – all activity jerked to a halt. Embry could feel every set of eyes burning into his back like hot pokers.

She eased around in front of him, wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing her face into his racing heart. "Sorry, Emmie," she whimpered, squeezing him tight and holding him together when he might have just crumbled into a pile of ash.

Sam's face had inflated in patent shock in stark contrast to his clenched jaw. Emily wasn't faring much better.

Embry watched Sam struggle to swallow, his Adam's apple hopping in his throat. "Is it true?" he croaked.

Embry wanted to puke. He nodded minutely as his eyes fell to his imprint who he was now clinging to for dear life.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Embry's gaze ventured up again and a shoulder jumped. " 'Thought you knew."

Sam's brow was knit as he slowly shook his head and took a step closer. "Collin and Brady… then Levi," he rasped. "The bloodlines were wrong. They-… They weren't supposed to Phase…" his babble fell off his tongue as he stopped right in front of Embry. "I-I thought you'd tell me… if-…" Sam had never sounded so vulnerable.

Chanté lifted her head from Embry's chest and she turned, slipping around to Embry's side.

Sam's eyes were flitting rapidly over Embry's face as if searching for similarities. He knew his features were diluted because his mother was only a quarter Quileute, but Sam found them all the same in his strong jaw, broad mouth, high cheekbones and, now, height.

Chanté pulled away as Sam took the last step and pulled Embry into a bracing hug. "Brother," he choked.

Embry's hands hesitantly snaked around the man.

It felt painfully awkward… until warm lissome arms were wrapping around both of them, lacing them together. Embry's imprint leaned her cheek against his shoulder as another set of human arms took the cue and did the same on the other side so they were wrapped between the two women.

And just like that, with their feminine blessing, the macho discomfort transformed.

Years of shame and loneliness melted away into the inexplicable liquid binding of blood ties. Embry was mortified to feel his nose prickling with tears until Sam pulled back with eyes glistening with emotion too.

As the women stepped back, Sam clapped his hands on Embry's shoulders.

This was by far the most demonstrative he'd ever seen Sam Uley and it was a testament to how deeply he was both wounded by his father's abandonment and moved by recovering part of his family too.

"All this time," he murmured while his gaze raked over Embry's face. "We lost all this time…"

And in Sam's eyes Embry found another thing he'd been pushing away.

"I only found about three years ago," Embry mumbled in a lame excuse as his gaze fell between them.

"Still, _three years,_ cub," Sam barked a laugh as he roughly pulled his head in with a ruffle of his hair.

Sam released him with a grin that looked good poured over that stony face.

Then, softly clearing his throat, Sam stepped back and across the boundary of male comfort. He gave Embry one more once over and then turned to where Chanté was quietly watching all of it with a smile so wide, her teeth sparkled.

Sam stepped in and cupped her jaw, leaning down to press his lips to her hairline. She didn't seem bothered at all by the kiss this time.

"Thank you," he murmured over her hair and then pulled back to her soft giggle.

Sam released her and Chanté immediately stepped into Embry's side, turning to beam a wordless soliloquy with wildly smiling eyes.

She was _so happy_… for him.

Embry didn't have the words so he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close while he wiped a brusque fist over his eyes.

He turned back for the first time to the silent room… to find his Alpha waiting for him.

Jacob's tender heart was shining in his eyes as he took the several steps forward and clapped a hand on Sam and Embry's necks.

"This is good," he whispered, looking first at Embry then at Sam. Pressing his lips together he nodded and slapped each of their traps with macho gusto and then turned around to the grinning room.

"Let's celebrate," he pronounced.

And the room exploded.

With Chanté clinging to his side, their Pack seamlessly swallowed them with shoulder bumps and hand slaps and babbling congratulations while somehow dinner magically appeared on the table. Embry laughed and listened while he squeezed his imprint and they exchanged glances and smiles, blissfully sharing this experience together.

Conversations and emotions still running high, everyone settled down in a new configuration both figurative and literal: Sam and Emily moved their places to Embry's end of the table. For the first time, he really felt like he had a place at it.

And everyone enthusiastically dug into the meal

But whether it was the night's revelation, his imprint, or the fight with Paul, it was jarring how different his Pack seemed to react to him. There was a new respect in eyes, words and the hands that passed dishes his way.

For the first time, Embry's Pack felt like family. Maybe it had been all along.

There was just one piece missing… from the conspicuous empty place across the table.

As soon as his ravenous hunger had been fed enough that he could think straight, Embry found himself casting glances at Paul's place, moved down several notches towards Jacob's end by Sam and Emily's shift.

Feeling eyes on him, he glanced down the table to find his Alpha watching him as he tipped back his beer. His eyes were hooded – a combination of worry and anger hardening them to hematite. It was inexcusable to be late to a formal Sunday Pack dinner.

Pressing his lips together, Embry glanced down at his imprint, delicately picking the greens from her salad and ferrying them one by one to her lips while she watched the animated antics of the table. Her fingers curled under the hem of his shorts as she looked up at him large still eyes and a smile.

"Are you doing okay, sweetheart?" he whispered.

That smile deepened and she nodded. He squeezed her closer and pressed a kiss forehead. "Thank you," he breathed, flyaway hairs tickling his lips.

She nestled in closer and reached for another green.

But the first step on the porch stairs had every supernatural head whipping around, followed closely after by their human counterparts as conversation withered into silence. The harsh scraping of wood, heralded their Alpha pushing out his chair.

Squaring dominant shoulders, Jacob stalked across the room, his face a shuttered steel mask.

The screen opened to a scruffy-looking Paul Lahote brandishing a bottle of 190 proof Everclear and their Alpha's growl ripped through the room, making Chanté jump into Embry's side.

Paul looked up with a loose smirk. "See you got it fixed," he swung the screen idly as Jacob prowled toward him with a dangerous jerk in his stride.

He was drunk - or as drunk as they could get – otherwise he'd be dropping to his knees in a plea for his life.

Jacob snatched his bicep up in a fist as he dragged him back out on the porch. "You _dare_ come late?" he snarled. "_And fucking drunk_?!"

The screen clattered behind the men, leaving the room uncomfortably silent. Bella quickly picked up the ball and ran with it. "So did the Mariners win?" she asked, like she knew the first thing – or gave a shit -about baseball.

Jared jumped on the play. " 'Course not," he laughed. "I don't think that pitcher could hit the side of a barn."

Others threw their hats in the ring with jeers or commentary as the table tried to fill in the cracks with uncomfortable banter… pretending everyone was _not_ listening to the hissed conversation outside.

"And you fuckin' reek," Jacob spat to the sound of liquid being poured out over the grass before a bottle was thrown over it with a clunking roll. "How _many_ girls, Lahote? You'd better be being wrapping it up tight."

Chanté looked up at him with wide confused eyes – thank _God_, she didn't understand the words.

"That's Paul," Embry whispered, soothing a hand down her back.

Her brow pinched together as she searched his face. Whatever she saw made her nod hesitantly before she turned to pluck another piece of spinach from her salad. Embry squeezed her close as he leaned his cheek on her head and listened to her chew.

As pissed as he was, Embry also felt bad for Paul. He was desperate and lonely, lost and broken under all that mess. Embry had been there too.

And, right now, there was nothing he could do.

Nothing he _would_ do… and risk getting into another fight and showing his imprint his predator side. Paul wouldn't listen to him anyway, not right now. Embry would just have to give it time.

And in the meantime he'd concentrate on keeping his cool. Just the sight of him had sent his blood pressure skyrocketing. He wouldn't let Paul's problems become his own - he'd made that mistake already last night.

Suddenly he realized that, with wary covert glances, everyone at the table was watching him. It felt weird – they were all looking at him like they did Jacob when he was teetering on the edge of losing his shit. Like they were afraid of him.

Come to think of it, it was actually kind of funny.

He sniffed a laugh and took another bite of the leftover ham Bella had given him to try to help his body catch up. Outside he could hear Jacob wrapping up his lecture with an Order whose power everyone in the room could taste: _he was not to speak to Embry or his imprint_.

It felt like a weight had been lifted from Embry's shoulders and he could breathe a little easier. His imprint noticed, of course.

"Okay?" she asked quietly.

Nodding, he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye as he chewed. Those little fingers brushed over his knee, her soothing touch easily dissolving the rest of the tension in his spine.

The screen door opened again and all heads tucked, eyes staying locked on their plates as their Alpha stalked back into the room.

All heads but one.

Glancing down the table in confusion, Chanté turned over her shoulder and watched, cowering into Embry's side.

Jacob brusquely took his place at the head of the silent table, his face still smoking with rage. Bella fearlessly reached out and pulled his hand from table to press it to her swollen middle and his eyes snapped to his pregnant mate.

She smiled and that fury effortlessly melted from Jacob's face. With a shaking sigh, he leaned in and drew her mouth into a deep and shameless kiss.

Embry smiled softly at how pussy-whipped their big bad Alpha really was… and how, if anything, Embry was now even worse. His eyes fell to his imprint, still turned over her shoulder and now watching Paul slink along the counter like a dog with its tail between his legs.

He headed straight for the refrigerator and pulled out a beer.

His imprint turned and met Embry's gaze with sadness. It stabbed him straight through bruised memories and his flailing heart. In her eyes he saw himself only two short days ago.

But he tried to soothe her as best he could. "It's okay," he lied in a whisper.

Eyes wide and serious, she shook her head and then turned back to the man who'd shrunk into the corner of the counters and was tipping back his beer.

Propping her hand on his shoulder, Chanté pushed off the bench. Embry covered her fingers and she turned around to his stare. "No," he hissed.

Delicate brows pushed together as thoughtful eyes caressed his face for a moment. "Iss okay," she whispered. With a squeeze of his shoulder she stepped over the bench.

Embry watched her flow across the room on those little pointed feet, her hair swaying heavily behind her.

He just-… he just _couldn't_.

Hopping the bench he prowled after her, his eyes snapping up to the wolf who straightened at their approach. He didn't trust Paul as far as he could throw him, and – thanks to last night – he now knew just how far that was.

Paul's gaze darted up from his imprint and his mouth oozed up in an ugly smirk that had Embry's lips flashing up from warning canines.

With a bitter sniff, Paul's eyes cut over to the side as he tipped back the beer.

Chanté stopped right in front of him, Embry inches behind her.

Paul's gaze cut from one side to the other – anywhere other than the girl openly staring up at him a foot away.

Until a dainty fingers reached up to his jaw.

A sharp hiss was expelled through his teeth as Paul's eyes froze, grounded to the side. Slowly they listed forward.

Once he'd met he gaze, he couldn't seem to look away. Fingertips resting lightly on his cheek like they were holding his eyes in place, Chanté canted her head with a soft smile.

Paul's tight-lipped swallow squirted audibly in this throat.

"Hurts?" she whispered and those fingers fluttered down to his stained shirt to rest over his heart.

Paul's lips popped opened with no sound – thank God – as his face crumpled in a scowl. Unperturbed, Chanté laughed softly and her hand slipped down to his, fisted on the counter. Wrapping long fingers around his wrist, she tugged.

"Eat, Paw," she glanced toward the table.

Shockingly the man allowed himself to be pulled away from the counter but he stopped, twisting his wrist free… _very_ _gently_.

Chanté didn't seem to mind. She took a few steps, glancing over her shoulder to see if he was following.

Paul finally tore his eyes away and they slipped limply to the floor. He tipped up the bottle as he took the first step.

Seeming satisfied, Chanté turned fully around and gifted Embry with a beautiful smile.

He had no idea what expression was on his numb face only that at those bright eyes, his lips could do nothing but curve in resonance. Her hand slipped into his, as naturally as it belong there (it did), and she pulled him back to the table like they'd done nothing more than chop a few more tomatoes together.

The Pack was valiantly pretending they weren't focused on the scene across the kitchen like it was the last play of the Superbowl and were muttering a bunch of nonsense that was trying to pass for conversation while eyes skittered away.

He held his imprint's hand as she stepped gracefully over the bench with long lithe legs and then he slipped down beside her. They settled into their places as Paul trudged around the end of the table, a polyester smirk locked in place but eyes glued to the ground.

Bodies shuffled down to make more room for him as he stepped over the bench and sat stiffly down. He drained the rest of his beer and set it on the table.

Chanté pulled free another green and chewed it while she watched him out of the corner of her eye.

Conversation rose, trying to drown the discomfort of their brother, subtly slumped in his place, and forgiving hands passed the meaty lasagna down the table.

It was painful to watch this shit from the outside. That had been _Embry_ two short days ago: pushing away everything that was trying to be passed his way for what he thought he deserved…

_Nothing_.

Paul took the pyrex dish in his hands and froze for a moment, eyes blindly staring at the melted cheddar cheese. He visibly swallowed and his eyes darted down the table to where Embry's imprint was pressed into his side and quietly watching.

His gaze snapped back to the casserole balanced awkwardly in both palms. A hand shifted to reach for the spoon, but he just couldn't...

Huffing out a harsh breath from his cheeks, he let the dish fall to the table with rattling clatter.

All conversation ground to a halt as he jumped the bench. Paul shoved both hands through his hair as he stalked behind turned heads, with a stiff spine and jerking stride that made a brusque beeline for the back door.

The screen hit the house with a bang as he shoved through it and out into the falling dusk.  
Embry slowly turned back to the silent table and he glanced down at where Chanté's eyes were glued to the door, now swinging in the wind.

Jacob's chair grated as he pushed to his feet and prowled across the kitchen. He quietly closed the screen and turned back to the kitchen.

"Let's go ahead and start the meeting," he pronounced quietly.

Embry looked down to where Chanté was struggling quietly with liquid eyes. A single kamikaze tear crested her lashes and fled down her cheek and Embry's hand lifted to tenderly cup her jaw and tip it up, catching her heartache with his thumb.

Then she promptly wrapped her arms around his neck, buried her face in his skin and wept piteously.

Ignoring the stares at the table, Embry soothingly stroked over her head while her breath bucked against him. It physically _hurt_ to see her cry.

_Bring it on._ Anything she needed.

But he wasn't going to sit here under his nosy Pack's stare – family or not. Not when she was so vulnerable.

"C'mere, sweetheart," he whispered as he pulled her closer. Face pressed into his neck, she crawled into his lap and he swung his legs over the bench, pulling her effortlessly up with him as she wrapped those long legs around him.

Suddenly Emily was at his side, gently pulling her hair free to made sure it was demurely hanging over where her dress had been hiked up to her hip. He met her eyes with his thanks before he turned.

His imprint clinging to his neck with soft hitching sobs, he met his Alpha's gaze. "Fill me in," he murmured, giving him no choice in the matter.

Jacob didn't need one. He was his brother too.

His Alpha nodded curtly and Embry turned toward the door.

Sam's pointed stare snagged his eye along the way. Behind the usual somber intensity Embry could see much more now: support, approval, reassurance.

A soft smile fluttered over his lips as Embry carried her out of the kitchen and down the hall to their room, shutting the door on Jacob's imperious bass. He could still hear it of course as he walked slowly toward the unmade bed, but this little room was becoming a haven where nothing outside of it mattered. It couldn't stay that way forever, but for now…

He sat down on the bed, letting everything fall away from his purpose weeping softly in his arms. "Shh," he whispered, pressing his lips to her hair as he smoothed a palm over the back of her head.

Sniffling, Chanté looked up with eyes that broke Embry's heart. "Paw hurts," she whimpered, just guilelessly holding out to him how much she felt it.

Embry felt it too. He always fucking felt it.

But now he wasn't alone and it didn't hurt so bad.

Pressing his lips together he nodded once as he ghosted his knuckles over her tearstained cheek in concern. "He'll get better," he whispered. "We'll help him." Some way, somehow, sometime, they'd figure out a way.

Her eyes darted between his while little residual hiccups made her breath hitch. He smiled sadly at the ruthless empathy swimming in those eyes. She bore her own heavy burdens and still that generous heart was fearlessly willing to give.

She could have so easily, but she didn't turn away.

Embry was most definitely in love.

He tenderly stroked over her cheek, collecting her tears like diamonds as his eyes memorized every pore of golden skin. "I used to be like Paul," he whispered as he slowly lay back on the bed, bringing her with him.

She settled on his chest, artless eyes darting between his and collecting all the little pieces of his heart he didn't have the words or courage to speak.

His hands skated up her back to push her hair behind first one ear, then the other as he gazed into those dark endless eyes, so achingly open and caring. "Then you came along…"

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_Review if you like. _


	5. Chap 5

Sorry I didn't hit you back last time. I got sick and by the time was back on my feet, you'd forgotten all about your review of this little fic and it would've been silly. :-) I'll get you this time.

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Believe it or not I broke this chapter in half. I'll post the next soon-ish as long as folks are still interested.

A couple peeps asked about the vamps: They are NOT figuring much in this story and it's told exclusively from a wolf pov – who are, of course, naturally biased. So whether the Cullens are admirable altruists who have conquered their curse with an impeccable moral compass or nefarious villains who manipulate and consume rather than love, or you just ignore them and focus on the story, I'll let your imagination decide.

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_Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy._

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**Chapter 5**

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Jacob fiddled restlessly with his mate's hand lying on his thigh as his mind chased its tail. Whether it was Alpha cockiness or his natural fucking optimism, he didn't usually second guess his decisions.

But right now, he felt like one big fat fucking ball of conflict.

Principles vs. needs, wants vs. propriety, individual vs. Pack, cost vs. benefit… things that used to be so neat and absolute duked it out with their shadows in a no-holds barred brawl.

The idiot he'd been, he hadn't realized just _how close_ he'd come to losing Bella when he'd pulled that sick stupid stunt six months ago in a blind haze of selfish want, but this time he was tuned up and running on all cylinders.

And the risks were rattling around in his head like sugar cubes in the gas tank.

He _couldn't_ fucking lose her.

Bella was not only the only thing that kept him sane, she was now the mother of his _son_. Fuck, he'd -…

"You made the right choice, Jake," his mate whispered, leaning into his shoulder.

Jacob clenched his eyes closed as he laced her hand into a tight fist.

"You're Alpha, honey," Bella soothed, brushing her fingers over the quivering muscles in his forearm. "Your responsibility is to the _Pack_."

"And to you too," he growled, cracking his eyes open to her beautiful little face, peering up at him from his bicep. He heard the baby thump and she raised an absent hand to rub her belly.

_How could he risk this?_

She picked her head up, as chestnut eyes flitted over his face. "I'm part of your Pack so why isn't it the same thing?"

"Because it's not," Jacob bit out, tipping up his chin and casting a heated gaze out into the afternoon sun blithely raining over their back yard.

"You're _wrong_, Jacob," Bella sat up more with a scowl.

Jacob's lips flashed reflexively up from his canines – that word never set well with him, even on her lips.

Especially when it was true.

Her brow furrowed with the stubbornness that rivaled his own as she wiggled her hand free and scooted a few inches away on the back porch step. A soft disapproving growl slipped free and Bella slapped his shoulder hotly.

Tucking his head with a petulant wrinkle of his nose, he hunched over like a fucking gargoyle and propped his forearms on his thighs. They rarely fought… but when they did, it was always over shit like this.

Over her safety. Sometimes what he thought she needed conflicted with what was right for the Pack and every time it did, it tore him right down the middle.

He watched her in his periphery as her narrowed eyes scraped down his profile.

"Do you _really_ think so little of yourself?" Her hiss surprised him into turning into her full-on glare.

A reactive scowl branded his face before his mind could even wrap around the meaning of her words.

"Or of your _Pack_?" she balked and then coughed a disparaging laugh. "You think you _need_ those leeches?" she accused hotly. "What? You don't think you can keep me _safe_?! Or _Liam_?!"

He could feel the wolf rising at her challenge along with his human shoulders. They settled back, making his pecs engage with a quiver.

Her eyes darted between his for a moment and then she huffed out a breath as her hand left her stomach to settle on the rock-hard arm, fisted on his this thigh.

"Jake, I married a man I _trust_. To take care of his Pack _and_ me," she brought it down a notch and softened her voice. "And I _know_ you can. You're smart and strong and freaking _awesome_ at what you do…"

She licked her lips, begging him to believe her with her eyes before she hit it home with a whisper, "Otherwise I wouldn't be carrying your baby."

Jacob's eyes closed as a breath was expelled up the back of his throat like he'd been punched in the chest.

She was right (she always was).

But Jacob _was_ a man - imperfect, weak at times, with hopes and fears just like everyone else. Their Pack and child, his mate and the love of his life… sometimes the weight of responsibility felt like it was going to break his back.

Like now.

"Baby," cool hands reached up to his face and his lids lifted wearily to worried brown eyes. Eyes he loved so much – _caring, redemptive, patient_.

"You did the right thing," she whispered.

Jacob sniffed in a harsh breath as his hand rose to take hers from his cheek. His eyes followed their hands back to his leg while he tried to beat instinct into some sort of submission. The wolf was raging against showing this weakness to their mate. He _couldn't_ tell her he was scared even though at the moment the man wanted nothing more than to carry her upstairs and lay his cheek on her stomach and drown in her reassurances and the beat of their baby's heart.

She was right (she always was).

He was Alpha. This was his job and he did it well. And he needed to suck it the fuck up and get on with it.

Which meant making her feel as safe as he'd make fucking certain she was.

Bella was still searching his eyes worriedly and his fingers slipped up to her jaw. "I hate that you're always right," he breathed around one of the crooked smiles she liked.

And then leaned in and kissed all her concern away.

He knew the effect he had on her and shamefully he used it when he had to. Bella was without a doubt his best friend, but because of what he was as man and beast, he _couldn't_ talk to her about everything. His mate melted into his heat as he luxuriantly siphoned both worry and little grunts of pleasure from deep in her chest and swallowed them down.

And because of the effect she had on _him _(which she used freely too), soon Jacob had forgotten all about ultimatums and wars and was drowning in sweet incineration. He was just contemplating scooping her up into his arms so he could carry her upstairs, when a flurry of leaves rustled out in the forest behind the house. It was the sound of fast-moving bodies with a supernaturally light step.

Smoothing his hand over his mate's head he broke the kiss and razor eyes snapped out to the shadowed wood.

"What?" Bella whispered, panting quietly as she dragged intoxicated lips across his jaw.

Now on high-alert, Jacob shook his head minutely as his hands slipped down to her shoulders.

"Jake?" Bella sat up a little more, wary eyes taking inventory of his profile.

Suddenly a small tawny doe sprang from the undergrowth, scampering in a pell-mell hopscotch through the trees. Seconds later a grey wolf, with black lining his muzzle and saddling his back, burst through the bushes, hot on her heels.

Jacob congealed to his feet in front of his mate before either of them broke into the large yard. He heard Bella's soft gasp as she pushed to her feet and he splayed a staying hand behind him.

Adrenaline detonated in his chest as he took another step down, and a worried gaze cataloged the doe's wide eyes and flattened ears. Bella had told him Embry and his imprint had gone on a hike and picnic this afternoon...

_What the hell had happened_-…?

But as soon as light hooves touched the grass, the doe slowed her pace, leaping in a twisting gambol through the yard. Spiritedly bounding on spindly legs, the little animal kicked up frisky hooves behind her with the spontaneous joy of all young creatures.

With a soft chuff, the wolf trotted into the yard, dropping a backpack into the grass. The deer's ears flicked up and then she was springing around wildly as her companion went down on playful forepaws, shimmying his hind haunches.

Bella's giggle dissipated the last of Jacob's tension and he turned to find her hand clapped over her mouth while her eyes chortled. Smiling, he took a step back up the stairs and turned back to the scene.

The doe was now prancing toward the wolf and then hopping teasingly off to the side while the beast rumbled with more of a purr than a growl. He made a half-hearted pounce in her general direction and collapsed to his belly as the little creature burst into an excited frolic that had her hopping and zigzagging around the yard.

Jacob laughed freely – it felt so fucking good…

And the deer stopped in her tracks. That dainty head whipped around to impale him on a wide-eyed stare and that novel sense of peace withered with his heart in his chest. Embry's wolf cast lambent yellow eyes on his Alpha and pushed up to four paws.

_God, he couldn't fucking take this right now. _

As congenital Alpha – and just the kind of guy he was – the fact that the girl was _scared_ of him ate at his soul more than any of them knew. Except maybe Bella.

On cue, a small cool hand burrowed into the fist at his side.

Embry's wolf yipped with a shake of his ruff and the doe turned her eyes on him.

Freed from that gaze, Jacob blew a breath from his cheeks and collapsed back on the step.

_Talk about a buzz-kill. _

Steadying herself with their joined hands, Bella lowered herself to the step beside him, giving him a sympathetic smile. He leaned over and kissed her shoulder and then turned back to the yard where the doe was now fearlessly walking up to the huge wolf as she stretched out her neck. Embry lowered his head as his ears flattened back submissively and they touched noses for a moment before she rubbed her face along his muzzle.

That lupine rumble got louder as she continued walking along his big body, leaning into him and nuzzling his fur while her little tail flicked happily. At least she felt safe with _someone_.

"This would get a gazillion views on Youtube," Bella chuckled under her breath, obviously trying to lighten him up.

"Yeah," he sniffed absently as he watched the doe turn around at his hindquarters and rub her other side along his body, tossing his fur with a nuzzling nose while the wolf stared Jacob down with sober eyes.

It _was_ pretty amazing to see – he wondered if they'd had to fight with their instincts or if the imprint just made this easy. Whatever it was, somehow they were obviously making this crazy thing work.

The wolf broke eye contact and turned into the delicate creature, lapping over her side with two swipes of his tongue that left a cowlick in her light fur. He then touched her nose again and returned that steady stare to his Alpha.

"Maybe we should go in, huh?" Jacob turned to Bella and she nodded, starting to shift her weight.

"Jay-cub!"

A bright dulcet voice had his head whipping around before he'd thought twice... and Jacob's breath caught in his throat.

Chanté was just straightening into her human form, her long hair falling heavily over one shoulder. She offered him a blinding smile, seeming completely unconcerned with the fact she was as naked as the day she was born.

And she was a vision of beauty so pure he could do nothing but stare - her body was supple and nymph-like with flawless sun-kissed skin that perfectly complimented that soulful face.

Her wolf quickly stepped between them, wrapping around her with an affectionate butt of his jaw that made her laugh sparkle over the yard while effectively shielding her nudity... without making her feel the human shame she obviously didn't have.

Chanté wrapped an arm around his neck before she rested her cheek on his back. She blinked contentedly at Jacob with those sweet eyes and an even sweeter curve to her lips.

A finger at his slack jaw turned his face around to his mate's grin. "Jake, you shoulda seen your face."

With a chagrinned chuckle, he leaned in and pressed a kiss over Bella's laughter. He'd only ever had eyes for her – which she knew that because he told her daily - and he certainly had no sexual attraction to an imprint, but there was no way anyone of any gender wouldn't be shocked speechless by a glimpse of grace incarnate.

Grinning at one another, Jacob squeezed his best friend's hand while he watched Embry congeal to his human form out of the corner of his eye. The man wrapped his arms around his imprint as he leaned down and touched his nose to hers, gently turning her around with him and pushing the fall of hair over her back to cover her nudity.

He was good: he was subtly shepherding the girl through the human world with a gentle touch that preserved that childlike innocence.

"It's really beautiful seeing two shapeshifters together," Bella whispered, speaking his thoughts for him like she did so well. Whether it was his supernatural soul or just his sappy-assed heart, there _was_ something deeply moving about seeing the two of them change their skins together.

He nodded with a smile as he lifted his fingers to a flyaway curl and just traced it with a cherishing pad. "Love you, Bells," he breathed.

She silently mouthed the words from a sentimental smile, "I know."

Jacob leaned in for a kiss and she gifted one, but hurried it along so she could turn back to the two in the yard.

He followed her gaze to find Embry just buttoning his fly while he smiled at where his imprint pulled her hair free from her sundress, releasing it in a tumble down her back.

Embry took a step toward her and smoothed a palm over the side of her head and Chanté's fingers crept up to flutter over his hand before they both turned to where Bella and Jacob sat, grinning ear-to-ear, on the steps.

"Hey," Embry murmured from his signature cashmere smile.

But it was _different_ somehow.

The Alpha in him took meticulous inventory, trying to figure out _why_ as the couple strolled toward them. Embry looked peaceful enough, but the giddy wide-eyed awe of the last 24 hours (and of newly imprinted wolves in general) had been replaced by _something else_.

Something had changed. Something big.

They stopped about ten feet from the stairs and Embry flipped his bangs out of his eyes as he shoved a hand in his pocket. "Got time to talk?"

_Oh hell to the fucking yeah. _

"Sure," he shrugged a casual shoulder

_Jacob_ needed to talk, actually. Aside from keeping Embry in the loop - since this all so intimately concerned him - that temperance, steadiness and sharp mind was exactly what he needed as both Alpha and struggling man. The last few days had been like a slap and they made Jacob realize both that he missed Embry's friendship and was totally underutilizing him in the Pack.

Jacob turned to press his lips to Bella's cheek and helped her up as he stood.

Embry had Chanté wrapped tightly to his side and she was returning Bella's smile. "Bella, can Chanté stay with you?"

"Of _course_," the woman scoffed. "Actually I wanted to show her this app I found for my iPad. It's supposed to be for teaching vocab to kids but it might help…"

Embry nodded and then looked down at his imprint as he brought a hand to her jaw. Her eyes darted up to his. "You're okay staying with Bella?" he asked quietly, strumming an absent thumb over her cheek while his eyes took that frantic inventory that every wolf did before he left his imprint.

That knowing gaze darted over his face for a moment and then she nodded soberly. Sometimes she seemed like a child… then at others like she was a hundred years old.

Bella started tottering down the rest of the steps and Jacob quickly stepped in to put a hand on her elbow.

She flapped her arm irritably. "I got it, Jake," she groaned.

Shoving his hands in his pockets with grin, he followed on her heel.

With a glance at her imprint, Chanté' stepped out of Embry's embrace and floated across the distance. Jacob watched her tip her head down to touch noses with Bella while he hung back by the stairs, trying not to spook the girl.

But then Chanté looked up and met him square in the eye.

It was _suffocating_.

He stood frozen to the spot as she flowed slowly around Bella and toward him, holding him hostage in those haunting eyes. Jacob suddenly knew _exactly_ what Paul had felt like last night: that stillness, the presence, the _wholeness_ that lived in a gaze made him want to fall to his knees and blubber like a baby. It was like she could see right through him down to the darkest ugliest corners that never saw the light of day… and that she accepted them all.

The girl stopped right in front of him, her head tipped up with the tiniest pucker between her brows. Then an unfettered smile exploded across her face.

_He was forgiven?_

It felt like a ten-ton weight had been lifted from his shoulders and he released that breath he'd been holding in a long shaking sigh. Somehow in that instant he was also able to forgive himself.

"Sorry, Jay-cub," she whispered and then tipped her chin up more with a petitioning raise of her brow.

His face cracked and sun spilled all over the place in a sloppy mess as he leaned over so she could reach. She giggled lightly as she went up on the balls of her feet and touched her nose to his, so gentle and sweet.

_Aww, shit._

She beamed at him as she rocked down on her heels.

"Thanks, honey," he smiled right on back. "I'm sorry too."

She nodded and his relieved gaze automatically darted up to find his mate. Bella had two fingers at trembling lips and her eyes were all watery. Those hormones were some potent shit.

He threw a wink at Chanté as he took the few steps to his mate.

"Aw Bells," he chuckled as he wrapped her in a hug, relishing the feel of her ripening body pressed against him. As much as he hated to see her cry, this was such a gift too – just like she gave him words when he needed them, she gave voice to his heart too.

"I told you," she whimpered, snaking her arms around him.

"Yeah, you did honey," he murmured soothingly.

With a juicy sniffle, Bella picked her head up and then fisted her hands in his shirt and shamelessly wiped her nose and face.

Glancing at Embry's private smile, Jacob laughed softly and stroked her hair until she was finished.

"Okay-…" she flapped her hands while she drew in a resetting breath, completely unconcerned with the mess she'd left behind. "_Okay_, you guys take as long as you want. We'll be fine, won't we Chanté?" Bella returned to the girl's side, looping her arm through the crook of her elbow.

Jacob released a slow breath and watched the women turn to the stairs.

The Alpha part of his brain quickly cataloged his charges: the house was well protected with the three cubs doing homework upstairs along with Jared and Kim napping in the living room, Billy was on board and Charlie was doing his part and there were still three hours before the deadline and stage two of this mess in addition to regular patrols.

Satisfied that everything was buttoned down, he could switch tracks to the coming conversation and the fact that the heaviest of all his burdens still weighed down his heart.

"See you in a bit, honey," Jacob called as he forced his body around – it was always hard to leave her. He strode out into the yard, peeling his wet shirt off his front with a small smile.

As wolves, they often cheated and had complicated talks like this in the Pack mind. Since it was a sunny day and everyone was behind at their various jobs – luckily they were either at family businesses, Sam's construction company or Jacob's shop – he'd suspended patrols and he and Embry had the privacy to do just that.

He stopped by the tree line, turning to see why his wolf wasn't following. Embry was still in the same spot, spine straight and hands fisted at his side as he watched the two women now crossing the porch.

"Emb?" he called quietly, swinging the shirt idly from his hand. He knew how hard it was for him to turn away but they didn't have much time for him to get this piece locked in… along with his own heart. Everything had to be scheduled, even his own breakdowns.

His wolf brazenly ignored him and Jacob rolled his eyes and jogged across the yard, absently flipping the shirt over his shoulder like a dishrag. He stopped right beside his friend and then followed his gaze up to the house. Bella had opened the screen and was guiding Chanté through it. Craning over her shoulder, her huge eyes were locked anxiously on her imprint.

"She'll be okay," Jacob crooned, putting a hand on the man's bicep and tugging.

Embry didn't budge an inch. He lifted a hand and Jacob turned back to where Chanté gave him a tiny smile as Bella ushered her through the door with an arm around her waist and low soothing words.

Jacob couldn't begrudge such a sweet moment - even if he _was_ feeling pretty impatient.

"Emb," he murmured as the screen door closed.

"I know," Embry whispered as he turned to him, meeting Jacob's gaze with sober eyes.

And _then_ Jacob could see what had changed clearly. In the mirror, he'd seen this same look in his _own_ eyes on several specific occasions: the night after he'd taken over as Alpha… that day he'd told Bella everything wolf and she'd agreed to stand by him still… and then again six months ago when she'd told him she wanted to keep both the baby _and him_ in spite of his assholery.

These were the most poignant moments of his life to date where he'd _known_ he was exactly where he was supposed to be. But along with the empowerment and peace of purpose, came an overwhelming mantle of duty.

And a shitload of fear.

Jacob searched the wolf's eyes for a moment while Embry stared right on back without a single expression on his face. "Ready?" Jacob asked finally.

Embry nodded once and turned toward the forest with a brusque stride. Jacob watched him go for a moment, steeling himself. Things were obviously more complicated than he'd initially thought and he needed to scrape his shit together to deal with it.

Jacob jogged after him and as he caught up, they both picked up their pace and ran into the forest for about a half mile, in wordless agreement to let off a little steam. Jacob slowed to a stop in a little clearing as his hands came absently up to the buttons on his jeans.

Turning his back, Embry did the same, shucking them down his long legs and then straightening and stretching out shoulders that had gained bulk over the space of two days. Jacob cracked his neck while his mind spun around growth spurts and imprints, bloodlines and fates, pasts and futures. It would be good to get a read on this wolf – this weekend had been a hell of a ride and so far he was taking repeated K.O. punches like he always did: quietly.

Jacob dove into the Phase.

When Embry dropped in seconds later, he realized what a bad idea it was.

Jacob's own turmoil was instantly consumed by a rage burning so white-hot it overran the bounds of Embry's usually immaculate mind.

And off balance himself to begin with, Jacob didn't have the centering to shore up the walls. It physically bowled Jacob over in a tumbling scrabble in the leaves. He struggled to find his footing as vibrant visceral imagery shot through his mind like automatic gunfire:

_Carrying Embry's mother, passed out with puke soaking her shirt._

_Huge wolves chasing down a herd of deer superimposed over the Cullens' feeding._

_Walking into Embry's house – dingy and strewn with trash  
while his mother screamed obscenities and blame at him for Joshua leaving._

_Following a large buck with a majestic rack of antlers through the silent forest. _

_Then, shockingly, Jacob's own face aged and framed by greasy hair,  
grabbing a beautiful black-haired woman by the throat while she screamed-…_

Jacob pushed to four paws, trying to get his bearings. The images continued to pepper his brain like shrapnel until he was broadsided by a vision that smothered them all with blinding peace:

_He lay curled around a small doe, her head resting on his paw while he lapped over a soft pelt that tasted like spring. Soft soothing images melted behind his mind's eye like pastels in the rain. Nuzzling her jaw, she lifted her head to touch his nose and those images bloomed into a brilliant tapestry of sensations – swaddling him in nirvana where he felt so whole, he never wanted to leave._

_**MINE!**_

The word roared through Jacob's brain igniting the dream with fire. Sound had instinct whipping his body around to the sight of a black and grey wolf barreling toward him with murder burning in his eyes.

Jacob's wolf sprang out of the way, tumbling in a roll across the forest floor where he snapped into skin and congealed to two human feet.

Jacob splayed out frantic hands at the wolf who circled around, head lowered and muzzle peeled back from foaming fang. "Emb!" he gasped, panting like he'd just sprinted a hundred miles. "Phase back. It's too much."

He didn't make it an Order – not yet. He wanted to give his ravaged wolf the chance to pull himself together.

And, some-fucking-how, he did.

With the control for which he was infamous, Embry's beast shuddered and froze in his prowl. Hands still spread in appeasement, Jacob backed up slowly, assessing eyes darting over the agitated animal.

He backed up and swept his shorts up off the leaves without a pause. "Okay, Emb," he soothed. "Let's run it out. I'll meet you at the bluffs whenever you're ready."

Turning on his heel, Jacob sprinted off into the woods - normally he wouldn't turn his back on a wolf… but this was _Embry_.

_Oh God, Emb._

He ran as fast as he could, pushing his human body to its limit and trying to beat the adrenaline and shock back with exertion.

_Holy mother of fuck, how was he able to deal with all that and not be stark raving mad?_

And what did it mean?

Those images had to be from Chanté's mind (or Embry had a hell of an imagination). Jacob had a million questions about the memories – including why he figured so violently in them – but he quickly shut them all away.

Like Embry had said: they were _his_.

Jacob had inadvertently witnessed something private and like he did whenever a wolf let that sort of shit slip – be it a moment of intimacy or a personal thought – he'd quickly push it into the silo marked: _never happened_.

It was so full, it was starting to burst at the seams.

Jacob jerked to a stop, leaning over and bracing his hands on his thighs as he gasped air into starving lungs. But, even though they were _also_ personal, he needed to hold onto the few heartbreaking memories of Embry's own life for a little bit longer.

So he could be a better Alpha.

With his mother's passing, his father's illness and his sisters leaving him in the dust only to have his life ripped to ribbons by his inheritance, Jacob had always thought he'd been given a bitter pill to swallow… but all through his life, he'd also had _love_.

He knew that both Embry and Paul had had a shit time, but they kept their memories under such tight wraps they only knew basic facts.

_Everything_ was easier to deal with in the abstract.

But having experienced just a taste of Embry's life, all up close and personal, brought the point sliding into home: Jacob didn't know the first thing about pain.

_God, he needed to be better._

And he would.

Jacob pulled his shorts up while his heart continued to flog his ribs. He glanced over his shoulder, searching the forest but he found no sign of his wolf. Drawing in a deep breath, he turned back around and lunged into another hard-core sprint.

He made sick time and after the ten short minutes it took to reach the cliffs overlooking First Beach, he was covered in sweat and panting like a dog on a hot summer's day. He'd pushed himself hard and it felt good – even though with his supernatural stamina he could have gone much longer. This run had been about the intensity.

With a groan, he sat down and hung his feet over the edge of the rock face, squeegeeing the sweat from his eyes as he looked out over the horizon and contemplated his own.

But he was surprised that after only about a minute, he heard Embry's near-silent step break the tree line. _How the hell had he caught up?_

Behind him the man slowed to a stop, gasping while his heart rate continued to sprint.

Jacob shifted on his perch on the bluffs, subtly settling his shoulders back as he tried to center himself for _whichever_ way this conversation turned. He made a vow not to ask any questions… he was here to _listen_ and give the man whatever he could.

A huffing breath prefaced a light step over the gravel and Embry appeared silently in his periphery. Without a glance, the wolf achingly lowered himself to the cliff's edge and pointedly just out of arm's reach.

Jacob glanced at him out of the corner of his eye as he smeared his bangs back and then wiped his dripping face. His skin was flushed under a sheen of sweat with several angry scratches healing on his cheeks and torso. He must have just plowed heedlessly through the forest.

Bracing a hand on the ground on either side of his hips, Embry stared stoically out over the ocean while his breath tumbled in his chest.

Jacob had to admit, knowing now what was under that quiet surface was disconcerting. He licked his lips and returned his eyes to the jostling waves. "You got here fast," he murmured out over the sea.

Embry didn't nod or even acknowledge he'd spoken.

Jacob drew in a cooling breath through his nose as his restless hand pulled a stone from the crumbling lip and he turned it in his fingers for a moment.

He felt antsy in the silence. He knew he had a "big fat fucking mouth" (as Paul liked to claim) and also that he liked to charge at problems head on…but Embry had always been a patient man whose few words were chosen carefully.

In order to _listen_, Jacob would have to be patient too.

He _sucked_ at patient.

Pulling his arm back, he hurled the rock out over the sea watching it arc into the distance over the waves.

Embry's sudden hiss was like an ice dagger plunged into the silence, "What happened with the fucking demons."

Jacob hashed a breath through his teeth. He should be grateful that they were starting this here – where _he _needed it the most – but after the last 20 minutes he was feeling so raw that the question chafed.

"I killed the treaty," he bit out from gritted teeth. "They're gone."

Embry's head snapped around and his eyes ran over Jacob's profile. "For good?" he breathed – obviously surprised.

Jacob nodded curtly and pulled free another stone.

As usual, Embry reacted to his need, putting aside his own. "What happened, Jake?"

Jacob sniffed as his gaze fell to his hand. As he lobbed the stone out over the water, he grunted the shameful answer, "I lost my shit."

In his periphery, he could see Embry's eyes darting over his profile, reading him like he did so well. He let him have at it as his hand felt around for another stone.

Finally Embry turned back to the sea and gazed out over the horizon for a moment before his own hand slipped down to break off a rock. He tossed it up and caught it in his palm once… twice… then hurled it out into the distance.

Another person would have been peppering him with questions or turning the conversation to themselves, but not Embry. He gave Jacob the space and silence to speak whatever was on his heart in his own time.

With a sigh, Jacob leaned back, bracing his hands behind him in the gravel. "I'm scared shitless I made the wrong decision, Emb."

Embry considered his words as he pulled free another rock – he didn't rush in with reassurances like Bella and that's what he loved about the guy. He gave it to him straight, but gently.

"Obviously _I'm _not," he coughed a laugh and threw the stone up, batting it from the air over the cliffs. "But what were you thinking?"

Blowing a breath from his cheeks, Jacob tipped his head up to the sky, putting all the shattered pieces of the afternoon back together. In fifteen short minutes it had gone straight to hell.

"That they disgust me," he hissed. "And that accepting their help is like selling our souls to the devil."

Embry turned again, taking unhurried stock and Jacob closed his eyes so he didn't have to watch.

"We _don't_ need their help, Jake," Embry whispered. "We can keep her safe. It's what we were made to do."

Jacob's eyes popped open as his head flopped to the side. "Yeah? Well what if we can't?"

Embry's gaze held his steadily. "Then we're all going to be dead too."

Jacob picked his head up, his eyes curving into crescents as he studied that determined face.

"We'll protect them _all _with our lives, Jake," he hissed. "And this is how we'll do it: we keep all the girls on the Rez for the next few months. Make sure there's always one of us with them – quit our jobs if we hafta," his breathy sing-song croon made chills spill down Jacob's spine. "There's no way in hell those things are going to get through."

He was right. He was so fucking right. Jacob was letting the parasites fuck with his head.

He heaved a breath through his nose and then nodded minutely as he pushed back upright.

Embry stared at him a moment and then turned out to sea. "Because if we let them help, what happens the next time?" he sniffed. "Or the next? They're trying to reel us in, keep us close. I think because they want Bella."

"I think you're right," Jacob sneered. "I threw in a few thoughts about getting married. Our pregnancy," he coughed hatefully. "You shoulda seen the Cocksucker's face."

Embry didn't tear his eyes from the horizon but his lips spread in a gratified smile. "You made the right decision, Jake," he whispered. "And you didn't make it alone."

Jacob blinked, turning to his friend as the words really hit him.

Embry glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. "You've got your Pack."

Jacob sniffed, a small smile flashing over his lips before they both turned back to the horizon.

For a few silent minutes they stared out over the ocean lost in private thoughts. The more Jacob thought about it, the more he realized that it really _was_ a no-brainer. He'd let himself get talked into the unholy alliance in the first place because of _fear_. Bearing the responsibility for all these lives alone – for the life of his mate and child – was terrifying.

But he _wasn't_ alone, was he?

"So what made you lose it?" Embry murmured, bowing his head and examining the rock he was fingering in his hand.

Jacob laughed bitterly and grabbed up a stone. "They were trying to negotiate the hunting thing," he pitched it out over the cliffs with a grunt. "And I asked 'em why they couldn't fucking hit up a bloodbank… or hell, a butcher shop," he snorted, glancing his wolf's way with a smirk.

Embry's head was turned, hazel eyes locked on his mouth – Jacob had his full attention.

Jacob's face slipped serious, remembering about how personal this was for the wolf. And how personal it had felt for _him_ in that doctor's office.

"They said…" he licked his lips slowly. "'That it wasn't the same as _living blood_.' But I saw it in their eyes, Emb," he squinted in disgust. "I saw it in their cold dead eyes. They _feed_ on the hunt. The _suffering_. Just like any fucking leech. _That's_ why they don't just… drink it out of bags or something."

Embry's adam's apple struggled like he was swallowing down vomit.

"And I thought of her… I thought about her brothers…And how I let them die..." Jacob spoke straight into those eyes, enunciating every word carefully. "And I fucking lost it."

Embry squeezed his eyes closed as his head flopped forward.

"I jumped the desk and tried to strangle the muthafucker," Jacob growled. "Told them they had until sunset before we kill them all."

He turned back to the sea with a dry chuckle, trying to lighten things up. "Then... then I had to _let_ Security drag me out like a fucking criminal." He shook his head as he picked up another stone and considered it a moment.

"Good thing Charlie was the first one on the scene," he sniffed. Bella's father rocked as hard as she did.

"Do you think they knew?" Embry whispered.

Jacob pressed his lips together and squinted in chagrin. "I lost it before I could figure it out."

Drawing in a deep breath, Embry lifted his face to blow a long dragging whisper over the ocean, "Thank you."

Jacob's gaze ran over his wolf's profile. "She's my Pack, Emb," he whispered. "Just like you."

Embry nodded slowly while his eyes chased thoughts over the sparkling water.

Jacob's turned the stone over in his hand restlessly and then tossed it over the edge. He watched it clack and bounce against the face on the way down.

"She was scared of you," Embry began so quietly it would have been lost to a human ear. "Because you look like the man who killed her mother."

Jacob's head whipped around with a furrowed brow to find his wolf staring stoically over the ocean. _That_ was the image he'd caught from Embry's mind.

"She remembers," Embry whispered. "She was only a few months old, but she remembers because they're born…" his brow crumpled like he was searching for the words. "She was born… _complete_, not like a baby. They just have to learn."

Jacob pulled a knee up on the ledge as he turned toward him, listening intently.

"She was born human and they lived in a cabin in the woods. One day her mother strapped her on her back and went with her brothers down to a town," he frowned and shook his head like he was trying to describe something he'd watched his head like a movie.

"To get some supplies or something. And a guy who looked a hell of a lot like you shot her brothers," the words started getting clipped and gravelly. "Because he wanted her mother… He-… He dragged them… _into the woods_… and-…" the words got swallowed in a growl. He slammed a fist into the ledge so hard, the edge crumbled and then jumped back and to his feet.

Jacob scooted back as rocks clattered down the cliff face and pushed up to stand, dusting off his shorts, as Embry stalked away.

"Emb," he murmured, while he watched him manically pace. "There's nothing you could have done. It's over-…"

Embry whipped around baring teeth. "_She knows that_!" he yelled. "_She accepts everything_! _EVERYTHI-_…!" his scream shattered. "She came to find _me_! _ME!_"

Eyes wild and filling with tears, he beat his fist on his chest. "_I'm_ the reason her brothers _died_ …"

Frozen where he stood, Jacob watched years of damage make a strong man finally shatter. "Emb-…"

"SHE THINKS I'M WORTH IT!" he bellowed, somewhere between a scream and sob. "ME!" he banged his chest again. "I'M NOT _WORTH SHIT_!"

Jacob took one look at those wild eyes set in a tear-stained face, contorted by years of pain, and he knew, right now, that there was no way to fix this.

So he wouldn't even try.

"C'mon, let's jump," Jacob whispered.

It took Embry off guard, just like it was supposed to.

"C'mon man," he jerked his chin toward the cliff. "It's been, what? Three years?"

Disoriented from the emotional explosion, Embry's confused eyes darted maniacally over his face.

Jacob tipped his chin again toward the sea and Embry's gaze followed. His nose wrinkled in a snarl even as the tears continued to flood down his face…

And then with a roar of pure rage, he sprinted for the edge, leaping over it with abandon as his bellow echoed off the cliffs.

Jacob followed after, pushing off the rock and flinging himself into space with arms wide like he was flying before he was arching back down. He twisted into a dive as air rushed dizzily by, leaving everything else behind.

The cold water was shocking.

He dove down deep and then let himself slowly rise up with the bubbles before he kicked the last few feet, breaking the surface with a gasp.

Embry was bobbing several feet away, wiping the water from his eyes. He tipped his head back and dunked his hair out of his face and then met Jacob's gaze.

"Just like old times." Jacob gave him a smile as he started swimming toward shore.

Embry sniffed and followed after. But he looked a little more like himself.

They wordlessly swam toward the beach, the churning waters pulling at their strength in a welcomed challenge. Exertion was the antidote for all things wolf.

Finally Jacob was being pushed by a wave onto the clacking pebbles. Stumbling up the beach, he squeegeed the water out of his face as he glanced over his shoulder at where Embry jumped free with the next one. Jacob absently cracked his neck as he waited for the man to trudge up to his side.

Embry smoothed his hair back from his face with both palms. "I needed that," he panted softly.

"Me too." Jacob gave him a tight smile and then turned down the beach. "C'mon man," he murmured, clapping his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Talk to me."

Nodding silently he fell in with Jacob's step.

"So, what happened today?" he urged quietly.

Embry huffed a breath through his nose as he turned to stare out over the crashing waves. "We went on a hike – y'know just to get out of the house. Bella packed sandwiches… and blueberries," he glanced at Jacob with a small smile.

Jacob chuckled. The girl was definitely addicted.

"We ran for a few miles-…"

"Bella told me the shoe story," Jacob grinned, trying to keep things slow and light.

And it _was_ pretty funny mental image: apparently Bella had tried to get Chanté to wear shoes but with the first step, she'd promptly fallen back to the couch, frantically kicking with little shrieks until Embry had taken them off.

"Her feet were fine," Embry laughed softly. "She's got our stamina. It was fun."

He stooped to pick up a stone to fiddle with as he obviously moved on to more complex things. "So we found a clearing and I spread out the blanket for lunch and when I looked back up, she was… naked."

Jacob brought a hand up to rub his smile form his mouth and Embry elbowed him hard. He stumbled theatrically.

"Ass," Embry snorted.

"She's beautiful, Emb," Jacob said sincerely.

"I know," he whispered, eyes gazing down the beach. "But she doesn't care. She doesn't care about surface shit. She's just so open about everything."

Jacob smiled. "You're doing a good job keeping it that way."

Embry cut his eyes over appreciatively and then let them fall to the rock in his hand. "I wanted to get to know her before we-…" he tossed the stone up once and caught it in his palm. Pressing his lips together he turned to Jacob's understanding eyes.

He'd been a fool to think Embry would ever follow in Jared's wayward footsteps. As a popular jock from a good family, Jared had been used to getting everything he wanted _when_ he wanted it. Embry, on the other hand, was used to getting nothing.

And he didn't have a selfish bone in his body.

He'd also never been much of a talker and Jacob could sense Embry withdrawing back into himself so he pushed him gently. "So then what?"

"Well… I thought-…" he sniffed an embarrassed laugh, eyes dropping to the ground. He drew in a breath, visibly resetting. "Well this afternoon she said she was scared to get to know me," Embry continued, troubled brows drawing together. "But I didn't get that she was really talking about shifting. In our other forms, the instinct thing is kinda crazy…" he wrinkled his nose.

Jacob turned fascinated eyes on his friend. "How so?"

"Well," he heaved a sigh. "It was really, _really_ hard for her when I Phased. It took her a long time before she'd come near me." His eyes dropped to the stone in his hand – he lodged it between his finger and thumb and hurled it out over the waves.

"It was hard for me too," he whispered after it.

Jacob swallowed thickly – imagining all the worst scenarios of predators and prey.

Embry stopped and stared out over the ocean. "The instinct to _protect_ her, to _own_ her…" he breathed. "It was so fucking strong. I just wanted to chase her down and hold her. I couldn't fucking stand it if she wasn't touching me."

Releasing a soft breath of relief, Jacob turned and stood at his side, staring out over the waves.

"That game…?" Embry murmured, cutting his eyes over with a squint. "_She_ was playing… I pretty much wasn't."

"Well you did a good job of fakin' it," Jacob turned with a wry smile.

Embry sniffed, briefly closing his eyes. "It's hard fucking shit."

"Yep," Jacob sighed. "It really is. But you guys worked it out. She feels safe with you…" He jerked his chin down the beach and the both turned and started strolling again.

"Yeah she's amazing – she tries so hard," a smile softened Embry's lips and then he slowly shook his head. "And she feels _so much_."

Jacob glanced at the awe painting his face and then scooped up a rock. He was starting to piece Embry's scattered thoughts together: she was comfortable with the man, but instinct had a hard time with the wolf and Chanté needed to shift to communicate.

Jacob jogged into a throw and grunted the question, "So she has telepathy or something?"

"Yeah, but not like us."

He glanced over his shoulder at where Embry had been watching the stone skip over the waves.

Blinking, he met Jacob's gaze. "That nose thing – that's what it's about," he told him quietly. "In their other form they communicate with touch." He coughed a laugh, "Fuck, it knocked me on my ass the first time."

Turning all the way around Jacob cocked his head curiously. "Only with her nose?"

Embry shook his head. "It's not as strong through her fur," he rolled his lips. "Maybe it's the skin to skin."

"Can you talk to her too?"

Embry wrinkled his nose. "It's going to take a while to learn," he drew in a deep breath and then released it in a sharp burst. "It's _really hard_ to be open like she is," he whispered quietly. "And y'know, on the surface we think in _words_, so…" he rolled his eyes.

"Vocab issues," Jacob finished for him. "But she's learning fast."

Embry nodded and his gaze fell to where he kicked at a larger wave that washed over their feet. "But it's probably a good thing," murmured under his breath. "I'm such a fucking mess inside."

Jacob took a step closer. "Join the club," he said gently.

Embry looked up from under his lashes. "She knows it too."

Jacob frowned in concern as he waited for more – because he _would_ wait. This is the most he'd ever heard Embry talk and he knew it wasn't easy for him.

And that he wouldn't be doing it if he didn't need help.

Returning his gaze to his feet, Embry dug his big toe under a stone and then flipped it up and caught it. "She sees _everything_, Jake," he considered the rock a moment. "How we feel, who we are under all the bullshit. I mean, not _why_, but she knows all the stuff we try and hide."

"How?" Jacob whispered.

Embry narrowed his eyes as he shook his head back and forth. "It's like-…" he scraped his lip with his teeth. "I dunno… she _feels_ it. It's like… intuition, but it's almost…" he looked back up.

"Her mind's so different from ours, it's like..." Embry's brow crumpled as his eyes paced back and forth between Jacobs, obviously struggling to find words.

Jacob tried to wait patiently… he _tried_.

"C'mon man," he huffed with a roll of his eyes. "I love this kinda shit, you know that."

A small smile flitted over Embry's lips and he glanced down the beach at the wetsuit surfers gathered in the distance at best swells.

Without a word – infuriatingly - Embry trudged up the beach, out of the reach of the waves, and sat heavily. Propping his arms on his knees, he hung his head while Jacob slowly trailed after him.

"Her mind's _beautiful_," he breathed to the stones between his feet. "And so…so gentle." He looked back up and met Jacob's gaze plainly. "You saw some of it."

He had.

And Embry was right: there were no words. Jacob stared at him a moment and then dropped his eyes as he collapsed, sitting down kitty-corner a few feet away.

"Yeah, that was intense," he admitted quietly.

Embry didn't say a thing. He picked up a shard of a shell and examined it before he tossed it back down with a tinkle. "It's like…" he paused, sucking on his lip with a little squeak. "It's like she sees how everything's connected."

He propped his elbows on his knees and dropped his head into his hands, his eyes washing blindly over the sand. Jacob's gaze fell to his hands, fiddling with a string on his cut-offs. That's how she knew about Jacob's father… and Sam.

"That's why she came here…" Embry's whisper was barely audible. "She was looking for _our_ connection."

Jacob looked up and found Embry watching with eyes that were miserable. "She misses them," he continued hoarsely. "But she accepts that they're gone. Everything's about the present for her."

With a huffing sigh he sat up abruptly swiping a hand down his face as he shook his head. "She accepts _everything_… like she's _grateful_ for it," he rolled pained lips as his eyes skittered across the pebbles. "Her brothers _died_ so she could find her mate and she's not pissed. She just honors them with gratitude for bringing her to _me_."

The disbelief in his voice showed he was still fighting the demons of his past, and who could blame him?

"You _are_ worth it, Emb," Jacob whispered.

Embry raked his hands through his hair as he shook his head minutely. "And then her father's some kind of _chief_," he lamented.

Jacob's smirked. "So's mine."

Frowning, Embry ignored the humor. "But she's _special_, Jake…"

"Hey, wait a minute!" Jacob barked a laugh, still trying to lighten him up.

Embry's eyes flicked up at his antics but he didn't take the bait. "They're, like… more formal. And children are _rare_ for her kind," he blew a breath from his cheeks, his eyes begging him to take this seriously. "Girls are even rarer."

That piece of information officially snapped Jacob's head back in the game. "What?"

"They're _rare_," he repeated clearly. "And the males can't make kids with humans."

Jacob frowned. "Can females?"

Pressing his lips together, Embry nodded once.

"But if they're _rare_ then…"

"Their race is dying out," Embry whispered.

Jacob's mind was spinning out as he tried to put it all together. So, the men couldn't produce offspring except with their own kind and females were rare. "Like, _how_ rare?"

Embry closed his eyes with a sigh. "Like, her only other sister was killed by _our_ kind in her animal form."

Jacob's face inflated with indignant shock as he remembered the imagery from Embry's mind. "Wolves?"

Embry nodded.

"But none of us have ever taken down _a deer_," Jacob scoffed with disgust.

"It wasn't our Pack," he said slowly, obviously waiting for Jacob to put something together.

_Well he wasn't getting it. _

"There are other Packs?"

"There _have _been," Embry raised his brow meaningfully.

"_Ephraim's_?" Jacob rasped. "But that was a fucking _century_ ago-…"

"Ephraim's _or_ _before_," Embry whispered quietly. "She doesn't know when - they don't think of time the same way."

Jacob stopped in his tracks.

"They're _immortal_?" he choked.

Embry nodded and hung his head.

Jacob stared at his slumped wolf for a moment in open-mouthed shock.

_Holy fucking shit. _

He flopped back onto the pebbles with a crunch and stared at the sky. The implications were mind-blowing… but the feelings _right now_ were even worse.

They were all programmed to _hate_ immortality like the unnatural perversion it was… _in leeches_. Jacob had often wondered if wolves didn't mate like they did to keep them tied to humanity and heart instead of getting carried away by supernatural blitz. They all knew they'd stop Phasing to age with their partners.

But what if their mate didn't age?

God, if Embry kept Phasing he'd watch all of them _die_.

Mouth hanging open, Jacob slowly shook his head back and forth with the rattle of stones. No wonder he was so troubled… on top of everything else, it was all just too much.

Right now.

And that right there was his answer. Jacob let his head flop to the side – Embry was still hunched over his knees, head hanging miserably.

"Hey man," he murmured pushing up from the rocks and scooting closer. "Don't try to figure everything out _right now_."

Embry lifted his head. "I'm not," he whispered. "I can't even wrap my head around it I'm so fucked up. I mean maybe I can keep phasing or-…" he pushed his hands slowly through his hair, pulling at the roots. "Or… I dunno. _God_, I dunno, Jake."

He blew a breath from his cheeks and met Jacob's gaze with eyes that looked 100 years old… already. "And the sick thing is, I shouldn't even be _trying_ to figure it out."

Jacob rested a hand on his slumped shoulder. "Whattaya mean, man?"

"I'm being selfish." Embry looked him straight in the eye, subtly slithering out from under his hand. "So _fucking selfish_."

Embry was the last person he'd ever throw into that category, but he didn't need flattery, he needed someone to _listen_.

"How?" he asked evenly, scooting around and wrapping his arms around his shins.

"C'mon, Jake…I should_ give her up_," Embry's forehead crumpled earnestly. "Find her _father_, let her choose a mate of her _own_ kind," he shrugged a shoulder and his gaze flew off over the ocean. "She's this precious thing and… and what the fuck can _I _give her?!" He sniffed with a disgusted shake of his head as he searched the horizon. "An addict mom… no family… no money… no future…"

Jacob licked his lips, trying to find the right words. Fuck, he wished Bella were here.

Embry barked an empty laugh as he turned back with a face curdled by bitterness. "Her father's going to be pissed, she's lost her brothers, she's stuck with a fucking pack of wolves and a loser." He shook his head with open-mouthed disbelief. "And she's _still_ so fucking _happy _she chose me -…"

"Hold up," Jacob interrupted, everything suddenly snapping into place. "You just said it: _she chose_. She _chose_ you, Emb. Don't you think-…"

"She's only _three fucking years old_."

Jacob froze mid-word. He closed his mouth with a soft pop.

"After her mother died, her father forced the shift," Embry hissed. "And she's lived all her life in her other form."

"I thought you said they grew up different," Jacob frowned.

"They do," he nodded. "But usually they spend their childhood human. When they take their animal form they grow faster. She's as old as she's going to get… _forever_."

"So she's full-grown…"

"So she hasn't even had enough time to _know what_-…" Embry's voice broke.

Jacob rolled his lips while his eyes paced back and forth between his friend's. "You said her mind's different, Emb. What does _she_ think?"

Embry blinked rapidly and then his gaze slid down his cheeks and an unconscious smile flitted briefly over his lips. He mouthed the words with silent awe, "She loves me…"

_There_ it is.

Jacob couldn't help but grin. "So the question is: why don't you trust her?"

"Look at me, Jake," he sniffed to the ground.

"I am, and, I think the point is, so is she," he smirked. "I thought she saw _everything_."

Hazel eyes darted back up, that tender heart bleeding freely and making them shine. Chanté couldn't have chosen a gentler human man who wasn't a fucking pussy. Embry had always balanced kick-ass and kind like no other. He could protect her - and it sounded like her whole fucking race could use a little of that - but also love her back with that tender heart.

"Did you ever think that _maybe_…" Jacob began slowly with a raise of his brow. "She sees you better than you see yourself?"

Embry rolled his eyes, but his mouth crimped with the tiniest smile.

Jacob counted it as a win. He let his grin split his face as he pushed to his feet. "Plus I thought _someone_ told me they were so used to nothing so they pushed shit away…"

Embry snorted… like actually snorted.

Chuckling, Jacob offered his wolf a hand and hauled him up... and then jerked him into a sneaky one-shoulder hug. "Maybe you're still doing that, Emb," Jacob whispered in his ear, holding him tight when he tried to pull back. "Think about that."

With a clap to his shoulder, he released him and Embry stumbled back a step, shoving his fists uncomfortably in his pockets as his eyes found the ground.

Jacob smiled softly. Yes this _was_ a clusterfuck of ginormous proportions, but – whether it was wishful thinking or his natural fucking optimism - he thought that it just might work out.

Because – _finally_ - Embry had what he'd always needed: love.

And Jacob had a sappy-assed heart after all.

"So any more bullshit to shovel on the pile?" Jacob asked, _praying_ the answer was no. Even though it seemed heartless, the honest truth was he'd run out of time. As Alpha, everything had to be scheduled: _his_ breakdowns… and his wolves'.

Embry looked up with a smirk and shake of his head.

"Thank fuck," he huffed theatrically. It was more flip bravado than he felt for sure, but it seemed to shore up that heart a little. "We gotta head back so I can make sure those cocksucking leeches are gone."

And talk to Bella… holy hell, he _needed_ to talk to Bella but he probably wouldn't have time until late tonight.

_Shit._

Well there was nothing he could do to fix this anymore right now so he did the next best thing.

Jacob's lips spread in an evil grin. "Race you?"

Embry's eyes narrowed at the challenge …

And he shot off in a sprint that sprayed gravel behind him.

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_Review if you like._


	6. Chap 6

Love your notes. Like promised, here's the rest of that chap.

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_Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy._

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**Chapter 6**

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Embry fell to his knees in the grass with a whooping gasp, keeling over to catch himself on his hands while he struggled to draw breath.

Jacob fell down beside him, rolling over on his back and gasping through a shit-eating grin. "Holy fuck, Emb!"

With an open-mouthed smile Embry hung his head, letting his roaring heart catch up while sweat dripped to the ground like rain.

Jacob had set a ridiculous pace and in the beginning, when Embry had let his worries weigh him down, he couldn't help but fall behind. But he'd never been very competitive. He never been driven to prove his worth like most of the Pack and men in general… perhaps because he'd always felt like he had no worth to prove.

It was easier to believe that in many ways - when you had nothing there was also nothing to prove or lose.

But he didn't have nothing anymore... he had an _imprint_ and she _loved_ him.

So why was he trying to give it away? For her? No, _for him.. _because he was scared shitless he'd fuck it up and lose it.

Jacob was right.

So in the forest, half a football field behind his Alpha and only a few miles to go, Embry had ignored the odds, dug down deep and brought up everything he had.

And he'd given it to the chase...

Embry sat back on his heels, tipping his face up to the sky as his breath continued to heave.

His eyes darted down over the plain of his cheeks as Quil pushed out onto the porch. "Who won?" he piped.

At the same time, Embry and Jacob pointed at one another. All three laughed at the gaffe.

Embry pushed his sweat-soaked hair back from his face as Jacob turned over and pushed achingly to his feet.

"Tie," his Alpha conceded as he offered him a hand.

Jacob pulled him up and then clapped him absently on the back as the they headed for the house on rubber legs. They would be back to steel in two minutes flat.

It sounded like most of the Pack was over for the pre-patrol meeting (and Cullen announcement). The house was oozing laugher and spirited conversation over a game on ESPN droning from the living room.

"_How's this, Paw?" _

Embry's ears locked onto a soft voice he'd hear even in a stadium full of cheers and his face snapped up. Adrenaline already running high, a growl slithered through grinding teeth and he stomped a step forward.

Jacob yanked him back by a bicep. "Easy," he murmured.

A low familiar chuckle filtered through the noise and added fuel to the fire, making Embry's blood boil. _"Pawl-luh,"_ it corrected.

Her earnest voice tried again, _"Pawel… Paul."_

"_Now you got it, little girl,"_ the wolf murmured. _"Hmm, looks pretty good."_

"Emb, keep it cool, man," Jacob crooned in that velvet bass, two tones shy of an Order. "I know you don't want to scare her."

Embry tore burning eyes from the house and met his Alpha's warning stare. "Let me handle this," Jacob murmured. With that, he took the steps first, splaying an arm out so Embry didn't just push on past.

Quil held the screen open with a grin and eager glee and Jacob cuffed him upside the head as he stalked through the door.

Hot on his heels, Embry shoved Quil aside and pushed into the house …and froze.

The rest of the room disappeared as laser attention zeroed in on his imprint, sitting on the opposite side of the table and bent studiously over a piece of paper with pencil in hand. Biting that plump lower lip, she was concentrating so hard she didn't even notice he'd come in.

Even though everyone else had: all conversation in the kitchen instantly withered.

_Or did she not care?_

Movement made his eyes snap to the man beside her.

Head tucked, Paul was slowly setting down a pencil on his own paper while he peered at Embry from under uneasy lashes.

Like someone had yanked the ripcord on possessive jealousy, rage ballooned so hard and fast he got whiplash. Razor eyes ripping into his prey, he ignored the feckless steel fist that snapped to his arm. But before he could yank free and take that first step...

Chanté's head whipped up, her nostrils flaring as they gathered scent from the air. With a little sound somewhere between a gasp and a shriek, huge round eyes found his and her face exploded in a blinding smile.

"Emmie!" she squealed, vaulting nimbly over the bench and running across the kitchen on tiptoes.

Ripping his arm free and stumbling forward several steps, Embry caught her as she hopped into his embrace with abandon. She buried her face in his neck as arms and legs wrapped around him.

Her mere touch instantly defused that dark ticking bomb and all that remained was raw sugar bliss and the heady scent of apple blossoms in the rain. Embry melted around her, sucking that sweetness over parted lips and savoring it on his tongue as the choke ripped on a low rumble like an outboard motor. Her face rubbing up and down his neck, his imprint was also drawing frantic lungfuls of his scent from his skin.

"Shh," he soothed as he rubbed his jaw over her temple, rooting into soft sable silk and slowing her frenetic movements.

With a hitching sigh, she collapsed to his shoulder like a worn child while his hands absently pulled her hair free so it fell modestly over where her dress had hiked up. His palms soothed over her back and he felt her muscles relax over their delicate frame with each stroke.

Finally his imprint picked her head up, showering him with a sunburst smile as those huge ecstatic eyes washed over his face like he'd been away for three years instead three hours. Embry knew the feeling.

Tipping her head to the side, she combed his wet bangs back from his forehead (at least the sweat had evaporated from his overheated skin). "Missed you," cherry lips whispered and she tipped her face up in petition.

Embry's heart melted into a puddle in his chest. "Sweetheart," he sighed as he touched her nose, gathering her breath with his lips.

Pulling back, he took immaculate inventory of every precious pore.

She was _his_. Instinct knew it beyond a shadow of a doubt and the man was finally starting to believe.

How the fucking hell could he even _think_ about giving this up?

"Paul, we need to talk."

At Jacob's stern voice, Embry tore his eyes away and they darted across the room to where Paul had stepped over the bench. His mouth spoke before his brain had caught up. "Jake?" he called.

His Alpha glanced over his shoulder and Embry shook his head tersely. She _was_ his… to _protect_. To have, _never_ to hold (the man knew _that_ beyond a shadow of a doubt, even if instinct never got on board).

And she'd obviously _chosen_ to sit by Paul.

Jacob frowned in confusion but quickly let it drop as – with her usual perfect timing - Bella crossed the kitchen. With another warning glance at Paul, Jacob strode brusquely down the room to pull her into his embrace and a long steamy kiss.

Chanté watched them curiously for a second and then turned back with an excited smile. She wiggled her request to get down and he set her gently on her feet as his eyes continued to survey every inch.

The light sundress she wore (Bella said she wouldn't wear more) showed not a speck of damage to smooth honey skin. Like Jacob had promised, she was fine - her body language was (now) relaxed, her cheeks were rosy, eyes happy, and she was obviously thrilled he was here.

He couldn't ask for anything more

"Come," she slipped her hand in his and pulled him toward the table.

Embry looked up and found Paul skulking along the wall toward the living room, one hand holding a beer and the other shoved deep in his pocket, propping a shoulder up to his ear.

"Paul, come," Chanté called brightly.

The man froze… pretending he'd just paused to tip up his beer. Lowering the bottle, his gaze peered down into it as he sloshed it slowly and leaned a shoulder against the doorway, angled toward the living room.

Embry blinked soundly, trying to breathe through the residual annoyance he felt just _looking_ at him. He felt for the guy, he really did. But-…

"Do you like?" That clear crystal voice compelled his gaze around.

And everything was forgotten for the sheet of paper she pointed to on the table.

Embry gasped, taking the last two steps and picking it up with an automatic hand while his eyes washed over it in awe.

It was an image of him… or one in the works, but what had been finished simply blew his mind. It was a close up portrait where the shape of his face had been roughly outlined but that's where anything that could be called a sketch ended. From one corner, with painstaking detail that was near photorealistic, a finished image bled down in tiny pencil strokes over his forehead and eyes, like his face had been poured onto the paper up to the bridge of his nose.

Mouth hanging open in the wind, Embry looked up to find Chanté had disappeared. Anxiety detonating in his gut, he whipped over his shoulder to see her pulling a sulky-looking Paul toward the table.

His imprint, on the other hand, was smiling broadly. "Like?" she piped.

Embry hadn't gotten past _stunned_ to _like_ yet, so he simply nodded dumbly. Chanté looked pleased though by whatever she saw on his face as she stopped in front of him - her arm stretched behind her like a taut tow-line for the man she pulled in her wake.

With a glance over her shoulder, she released Paul and stepped gracefully over the bench. Embry sat heavily, leaning backwards against the table as his eyes returned to the image in his hand.

The proportions were perfect with detail that included even the tiny scar by his hairline from the fall on the playground in fourth grade. But it was the _eyes_ that drew his attention. She'd somehow managed to nail emotion with her pencil and the eyes staring back at him were both strong and gentle, intense and receptive, and screamed the uncompromising dominion of heart. They looked nothing like the broken boy he'd always seen in the mirror.

Gentle fingers wrapped over his, tugging the page free. "Not finished, Emmie," she pronounced soberly as she turned with it back to the table.

Embry's gaze washed over her profile as she examined the drawing – is that how she saw him? Is that who he could be? In her mind earlier and he'd barely recognized himself clothed in the beauty of her eye and attraction. It was uncomfortable and, sensing this, she'd tucked the thought away.

Spreading the paper over the table with reverent palms, Chanté glanced at where he sat backward and facing her and then smiled, leaning in with an affectionate nuzzle to his shoulder.

He dipped down to place a kiss on her hair and then watched her turn back to her work, carefully arranging the pencil in her fingers.

"She was missing you so I tried a lil' distraction."

Paul's voice had his head snapping to up where he was now leaning a safe distance away against the wall. The wolf's eyes fell to the floor as he tipped up a swig of beer.

Taking in that dejected slump, compassion bubbled up, siphoning off the heat like Freon. "Thank you," Embry whispered.

Gaze lowered Paul nodded and then upended his bottle in a transparent excuse to raise his head. He glanced quickly at Embry and then closed his eyes as he drained his beer. He'd never seen Paul this… _subdued_.

Deciding the best thing he could do was ignore it, Embry pushed a slow resetting breath through pursed lips and spun around, kicking his feet over the bench. A smile spreading on her lips, Chanté glanced up from her drawing. Embry's mouth naturally answered it as he propped his elbow on the table and rested his cheek on the heel of his hand.

"Want to try?" she raised her brow toward the stack of copy paper and several pencils.

Embry wrinkled his nose with a shake of his head. Art had never been his thing.

But it was Paul's.

As she returned to finishing out the left eye with those tiny patient strokes, Embry's gaze slid over to the paper on her other side: it was a landscape he recognized well. A shed stood nestled by the tree line while what looked like the sketched outline of a deer crossed the scruffy lawn. The style was breezy, ethereal, making even his shitty house look like someplace where magic could happen.

Embry had never seen one of Paul's drawings before… in fact he didn't think anyone had, past a glimpse from the doorway or a nosey glance though the window when someone came to pick him up at his cottage. Paul was a closet artist in serious denial who laughed or cussed it off every time. They all politely pretended they believed him.

While he watched a game or sat through a meeting though, he did however doodle the shit out of any piece of paper he could find. Even those random graffiti-styled designs couldn't disguise his raw talent.

Just the fact he was drawing _in front of the Pack_… was huge.

Embry smoothed a tender hand over his imprint's silky head, following her hair slowly down her back – somehow she'd done this.

She glanced out of the corner of her eye and her smile made her lip pop free from those two pearly teeth. "Emmie," she sighed happily. And then promptly returned to her work.

Embry settled his cheek on his fist and he watched those lush lashes flutter over her drawing as she tipped her head thoughtfully and then put pencil to paper again. Moments ago in his selfish rage, he'd forgotten his promise. He'd told her they'd help Paul in whatever way they could.

And she was doing it.

A bottle clacked on the table in front of him and he looked up to the wolf in question, pacing behind Chanté to her other side. He sat down hesitantly, facing the wall while he pretended to be drowning in his beer when he was really just testing the waters.

"Thanks, man," Embry mumbled, sitting up and twisting off the cap. He took a swig, pointedly ignoring the man casting assessing eyes at him over Chanté's head.

Ahh... the cool liquid going down his throat felt good. With distractions starting to ebb he realized he _was_ both thirsty… and starving to death. He and Chanté had never really made it to lunch. Lifting the bottle he took another long draught and then set it down with a gasp as his gaze consciously swept the kitchen for the first time.

Jacob was standing in the corner watching him out of the corner of his eye while Bella told him what kind of pizza she'd ordered as a cover. Kim was helping Levi with his homework between covert glances at the other end of the table and Quil's ass was wiggling from where he was digging through the icebox. The rest of the Pack was yammering away over the sports channel blaring from the living room.

And on the other side of his imprint a wolf slowly spun around on the bench and set his beer on the table.

"Do you need a snack, Emb?" Bella called across the room, presumably to distract him from the fact that Paul was casting glances his way as he hesitantly picked up his pencil again. "The pizzas are gonna be another 20 minutes."

Embry was just opening his mouth to politely decline when his imprint beat him to the punch.

"Yes, please," she called, without so much as a break in her sketching.

Embry's face shattered in a grin and he met Bella's smirk with a shrug. Jacob chuckled too as Bella crossed to the refrigerator and petulantly shoved Quil aside.

"Out," she huffed grabbing the tupperware of meat from his hands.

Unperturbed, Quil ambled across the kitchen like it was his intention all along, making a pit-stop for some smart-ass quip in Levi's ear that earned him a pop in the arm. Snickering the wolf continued along the table casting nosey eyes over the two heads bowed over their drawings, side by side.

Embry snagged his eye with a warning stare and a smile slid across Quil's lips that looked almost… kind.

_Almost_.

Smothering his chuckles, Quil headed to the living room, immediately jumping into the fray. "Yeah the Yankees suck, that's why they lost their socks to the Reds." Several boos rose over the random conversations.

Across from him, Bella pushed a plate over the table with a left-over half of a ham sub sitting in the middle. How it had survived the afternoon was beyond him.

"Thanks," he told her quietly as he pulled it toward him.

She smiled sweetly and her gaze darted over his imprint and the wolf on her other side, both earnestly submerged in their artwork. That smile grew soggy and she returned to Embry with sentimentality shining in her eyes. Those hormones were some potent shit.

He smothered his smile with the sandwich and took a monster bite while Bella returned to her mate's side. While quiet conversation carried on in the kitchen under the raucous sounds of the TV and Pack in the other room, Embry watched his imprint fill in more exacting detail from that beautiful mind.

"I've never seen someone draw like that," a murmur made Embry's eyes dart up to where Paul was watching him out of the corner of his eye.

Embry swallowed his mouthful and then took another bite to avoid having to say anything as his gaze returned to the careful strokes of her pencil that left full-on perfection in their wake.

"Most people sketch and fill it in with layers," Paul continued lowly, his eyes now watching Chanté's hand. "She draws like a fucking inkjet printer or somethin'," he sniffed a laugh and returned to his own drawing.

He wove several long flourishes into the trees and Chanté stopped her sketching to watch him for a moment. Her left hand lifted from the table and a long finger tapped on the page beside the deer.

Paul sniffed a laugh as his lips hitched up on one side, but his voice was gentle. "Yeah, that's you."

Chanté's head turned around and she beamed her pleasure to Embry.

His lips automatically curled up under that sun as he wiped an absent hand on his shorts and then brushed his knuckles over her cheek. "Deer," he told her quietly.

"Doe," she corrected and Embry's heart flipped.

They shared a smile for a moment and then she returned to her drawing.

"That app was pretty good," Bella provided across the room where she was leaning her cheek against Jacob's chest.

Embry nodded appreciatively and picked up the sandwich and took another bite.

"I'm gonna go rinse off," Jacob's felty bass slithered across the room. All three wolves at the table immediately turned to their Alpha, who was tucking his mate under his arm. Ignoring Levi, his steely stare met first Paul's gaze, then Embry's. "You guys gonna be okay?"

Embry glanced at Paul to find him doing the same. Their gazes scuttled off to the side at the same time.

Nodding, Embry grabbed his beer and tipped it back as his gaze wandered back to his Alpha's assessment. Paul tucked his head and went back to filling in the deer details.

Chanté didn't look up once.

Apparently satisfied that there'd be no bloodshed in his absence, Jacob led Bella toward the living room casting loaded glances along the way – but under that stony Alpha veneer, Embry could tell he was pleased.

Embry picked up the sandwich and took another bite. Even just this little bit of food was filling in that black-hole anxiety and starting to smother the rage. One thing was for sure: he was going to have to take care of his body if he was going to keep his head in this thing.

He chewed pensively as his eyes drifted back down to his imprint, tracing her profile affectionately – she was biting that lower lip with the tiniest pucker between her brows. Whether she was cutting a tomato or creating a work of art, she did everything with a kind of genuine reverence that was such a beautiful thing to see.

It made him appreciate how much he took for granted.

A murmur that was barely audible made Embry blink up from his wonder, " 'Didn't know she was your imprint."

His gaze focused beyond Chanté's bowed head to the man bent over his own paper, continuing to stroke depth into the image. By the looks of him, Embry would have never guessed he'd spoken – but he had. And there was a subtle apology wrapped in the words.

Embry's gaze fell to the last bite of sandwich, as his mind flashed back to that night he'd thought he'd lost her.

How the fucking hell could he even _think _about giving her up?!

" 'Never shoulda said that shit," another mumble slipped from the wolf's lips without so much as a glance Embry's way.

"Got that right," the words snapped over his lips.

Head bowed over his drawing, Paul's gaze cut over with a million silent thoughts squeezing out from under his straight lashes: chagrin, pain, fear, jealousy and…

"I'm sorry, Call," he whispered.

It shocked the shit out of Embry so bad, the sandwich tumbled from his fingers to the plate. He'd never expected to ever hear that word from that filthy mouth.

Swallowing audibly, Paul licked uncomfortable lips and then returned to the drawing, resting his right elbow on the table and hunching over his sketching left so he could turn his head away.

Embry was still staring like a moron when Chanté, who was still bent over her drawing, sneakily turned her head just enough to the side that he got a good look at that knowing smile. His own lips answered as she squeezed one eye closed in an amateur wink.

It was fucking adorable.

With a soft chuckle, he brushed his hand down her hair as she turned back to the drawing with that smile still dancing on her lips.

God he was so in love with her, it was sick.

She _made_ him want to be better – to be the man with those eyes. He was going to do his very best.

He stuffed the rest of the sandwich into his mouth and chewed it thoughtfully while he watched her face slip back into serious as her teeth absently captured her lip.

And he'd start here.

Tipping up the beer, he drained the rest, sucking it down with soft gulps while he steeled himself. What he was planning was a completely mundane and natural thing to do, but it was also a huge step … and it just might be the hardest thing he'd done in his life to date.

Setting the bottle down on the table but leaving his hand wrapped around it, he stared blindly across the kitchen for a moment, gathering the strength just like he'd done in the sprint.

He drew in a deep breath and released his beer.

"Chanté," he murmured, turning to where his imprint instantly gave him her undivided attention. "I'm going to go take a quick shower."

She nodded with a bright smile as Paul turned around slowly, eyes wide with undisguised shock.

Embry met his gaze evenly. "P, 'mind keeping her company?"

Paul quickly shuttered away surprise behind a cavalier mask. "The entire fucking table thanks you," he smirked, leaning back over his drawing.

Down the table Levi barked a laugh as Chanté smothered a giggle with demure fingers. She glanced at Embry with dancing eyes - whether she understood the words or not, she definitely understood his teasing tone… and it was progress.

He gave her a goofy grin and swung his feet over the bench, spinning almost all the way around so he was facing her again.

Sparkling laughter spilled from her lips as she dropped her pencil and stretched up in petition. His smile softening, a hand slipped to the nape of her neck and he slowed things down, leaning in to rub sensuously down her nose.

With a hitching sigh, she leaned in closer as she nuzzled over his cheek like she did in their other forms, making their eyelashes catch and flutter. She pulled back with a Novocain smile and Embry tucked her hair gently behind her ear with intoxicated fingertips.

There was no fucking way he was giving this up. He was going to give her everything he had and make sure she never regretted her choice.

"I'll be back in a few minutes," he whispered, keeping his hands on the reins of an instinct that bucked wildly against leaving her side. Especially with a perceived rival sitting beside her.

Her head flowed to the side as her eyes strummed leisurely over his face and then mouthed a silent word that instantly soothed the beast, "Yours."

His hand slipping down to her shoulder, he closed his eyes for a moment, just cherishing how sensitive and kind she was.

Even when he was acting like an insecure ass.

He opened his eyes with a smile and, rubbing a grateful hand down her arm, pushed of the bench and turned away without a backward glance.

And took the fastest shower known to wolf or man.

Still, of course, as he washed the sweat and salt off his body at supernatural speed, the pizza came… and wherever there was food, there was also lupine chaos.

At the first sound of a car in the driveway, a unified roar of elation shook the house. Thankfully, it cut as quickly as it started - so someone sane must have reminded them to tone it down.

Embry quickly threw on another borrowed shirt and shorts, sighing heavily with the realization that tomorrow he'd have to go home to at least get his phone, if not see if any of his clothes still fit.

And check on his mom.

He couldn't hide from his life forever in this fairytale. That thought started him down the rocky road of housing and bills and mothers and things that seemed even more daunting than being imprinted on an immortal shapeshifter from a dying race who was supposed to be his prey.

Shoving his hands through his hair, he glanced in the mirror and saw he had his shirt on backwards. With a snort, he yanked open the door and hustled down the hallway while he impatiently turned it around. The noise level in the house had dropped considerably because Jacob had wisely banished the pack to the late afternoon yard. He could hear them jockeying for pizza and horsing around with even more manic energy than usual.

Everyone was worked up over the Cullen thing.

Embry hastened into the kitchen and had just enough time to process Chanté looking shell-shocked in the corner while Bella soothingly gathered her hair in her hands before those big eyes locked on him.

Then she was running on light little feet across the kitchen. Embry jogged a few steps and wrapped her up tight, pulling her cheek to his chest with a sheltering palm while she twisted her hands up between them.

"Shhh…" he murmured, stroking over her hair.

Both Bella and Jacob were watching her worriedly… and so was Paul. He was stowing the drawings on the cabinet in the corner and watching her covertly over his shoulder.

Gentling his voice Embry explained to the room, "Her people are quiet. She's not used to this."

_Yet_ was left off the end, but most definitely inferred.

"Are any of us?" Bella laughed, seamlessly towing everyone back on track like the professional she was.

Embry's hands slipped down to his imprint's jaw and gently coaxed her head up. "Are you okay?" he whispered, smoothing back her hair.

She nodded with a brave smile but kept her hands fisted in his shirt.

"Sam 'n Em are on their way," Jacob informed him, sitting down at the head of the table where a few boxes had been left from the tower outside. Embry glanced out through the screen door to see Jared and Kim sitting on the porch, chaperoning the Pack strewn over the lawn and shoving down slice after slice like there was no tomorrow.

Bella turned to the refrigerator and pulled out a bowl of salad and the water pitcher but in two strides, Jacob had snatched both out of her hands with saccharine grin. "Sit down, woman," he blustered.

Bella gave him a bland look and headed for the table. But with an impressive sleight of hand as she passed by, she snuck in her revenge and a pinch to his ass that made him yelp.

Embry chuckled as he led Chanté toward the Jacob-end of the table and held her hand as she stepped over the bench. He sat down beside her and then followed her gaze and smile.

Paul was surprisingly slipping onto the bench on the other side, several places down from Bella's. He took a sip of his beer and then leaned over, stretching his hand toward the boxes and dragging one close enough that he could pull out a giant piece (they had it cut in quarters for obvious reaons).

"Quil's grating on my fucking nerves," he grumbled, shutting the lid and shoving it brusquely away.

It was a pitifully transparent ploy to stay with them (or more likely, Chanté) and no one at this table would dream of calling him on it.

In fact, Embry quickly busied himself getting his own slice. Jacob caught his eye with a subtle and surprised raise of his brow. Smothering a smile, Embry pulled out a greasy monster slice of pepperoni for him and then a regular-sized wedge of mushroom for his imprint and set it on paper plates.

Bella casually slid a paper plate down the table to Paul before she took her own seat while Embry poured a glass of water for Chanté. He watched with tender amusement as she sniffed the pizza and then poked it with a wary finger.

Paul propped an arm on the table and hunched over his plate, studiously ignoring the rest of them.

"So, Charlie went up and checked out the Cullen place this afternoon," Jacob threw his hat into the awkward silence.

Embry folded his pizza in half and took a bite as he turned to his Alpha.

"Said they're gone," he met Embry's gaze as he stuffed nearly an entire slice into his mouth. He chewed a few seconds and then mumbled around his gargantuan bite. "It'll bwe nice to gwet our own fwuckin' lands bwack."

Bella glared at him and he barked a laugh, only making matters worse. Pizza shrapnel jettisoned over his plate.

"Gross, Jake!" Bella complained.

Chanté wrinkled her nose and then went back to prodding her pizza. She peeled a mushroom off and brought up to her lips. A pink tongue darted out to taste it and then, with a sideways glance at Embry, she carefully replaced it on the pizza in the exact spot left bare in the oily cheese.

He laughed softly as he tugged her plate onto his empty and then pulled the salad in front of her.

A chuckle bounced down the table and Embry glanced up just in time to see Paul quickly returning his eyes to his plate.

"Why are you sitting down there, P?" Embry sniffed a laugh, trying lightly to draw him in.

Paul looked up with a smirk and his professional impression of a five year old. "You still stink."

"Get your ass up here," Jacob snorted.

Heaving a long-suffering sigh, Paul rolled his eyes and slid down the bench, dragging his empty plate with him. Embry shoved a pizza box toward him and started on Chanté's slice as she leaned into his side and happily plucked a green from her salad.

They made an odd little group gathered around oily pizza from Jojo's, but Embry was just starting to think it might work when the crunch of gravel down the long driveway heralded an addition to the mix. He assumed it was Sam and Emily for a split second until Jacob lunged to his feet.

"It's your dad," he told his mate with that uncanny ability to know every car by the sound of its engine, even outside 300 feet away. "Shit. 'Bet it's about the hospital," he mumbled as he wiped his mouth and then threw down the napkin and stalked across the kitchen.

Bella tossed a reassuring smile over the table in spite of the worry in her eyes and pushed awkwardly off the bench. Paul's hand shot out to steady her as she stood. "Thanks," she squeezed his shoulder and then tottered after her mate.

Paul turned back to the table with a look in his eye that Embry couldn't read for the life of him. It was like he wanted to say something.

Chanté watched the two of them, locked for a moment in a staring contest as she took a sip of water and her fingers curling under the hem of shorts. Paul's eyes slipped free first, returning to his plate as he took a bite of the pizza in his hands.

Confused off his ass, Embry glanced down to the guileless questions in his imprint's eyes and he impulsively leaned in with a reassuring kiss to her forehead. He pulled away, leaving an oily mark and Chanté in giggles with a wrinkle to her nose.

He coughed a laugh and grabbed a napkin, wiping the smudge from her honey skin.

"_Jake, I'm actually here to see Embry Call. He around?" _

At his name on Charlie's lips, Embry's head snapped around. His gaze instinctively snagged on Paul whose head was tucked as he chewed his pizza. The wolf's eyes darted up to his and he grabbed his beer, tipping back a sip as that cryptic gaze slid to Chanté and then returned to Embry.

Scowling at him, Embry kicked his feet over the table and spun around. _Fucking Paul and his fucking games_. "I'll be right back, sweetheart," he soothed Chanté's wide eyes.

But her fist darted out to grab his shirt and then she was slipping off the bench like a throw of silk. He now knew that she was feeling his anxiety. She _always_ felt it.

A hundred times more than he did.

He smoothed over her head with a gentle palm as Jacob appeared in the doorway with a pointed look. Embry nodded curtly and his Alpha disappeared back into the living room.

Embry wrapped an arm around his imprint's shoulders and whispered, "C'mon, sweetheart." Huge eyes looked up into his before she nodded and let him lead her along the table.

"Remember that night," Paul's whisper made Embry's gaze snap to where he was scowling into the bottom of his beer. "In the car coming back from O'Malley's?"

Embry kept walking – he couldn't deal with Paul's mind fucks. Not right now.

Chin still tucked, Paul's eyes bobbed up, half-moon irises peering from under a bowed brow. "Well, you got your dream," he breathed slowly.

Embry narrowed his eyes and squeezed his imprint closer as they rounded the table. Grabbing his beer, Paul vaulted the bench and prowled toward them and Embry froze, angling Chanté out of harm's way – even though he didn't scent aggression.

Paul tipped back a sip of beer as he came around the table and passed him so close their shoulder's brushed. "Don't fuck it up, Call," he breathed in his ear.

Frowning, Embry turned over his shoulder and watched him stalk to the screen door without a backward glance.

Drawing in a deep breath, he turned back to where Chanté was watching him with concern in her eyes.

He smiled sadly and then his eyes lifted to where his Alpha was standing in the living room. He jerked his chin and Embry urged Chanté across the kitchen.

Embry tore his gaze away from his Alpha as he scanned of the living room. Charlie was standing in full cop regalia and facing his daughter who looked stretched taut between anger and confusion.

"It's business, Bells," he was murmuring as he soothed a hand down her arm.

_What the hell was this about?_

"Chief Swan," Embry mumbled as Jacob fell in at his elbow, giving him support with his mere presence.

Bella whitewashed a smile over her worry. "Chanté, come meet Charlie," she piped a little too cheerily.

Looking down, Embry's arm automatically unwound from her shoulders, smoothing encouragement down her back. But his imprint just leaned closer, grabbing his shirt again like a bashful child.

Across the room, Charlie's eyes were ballooning in undisguised wonder while crimson rushed up his face at an alarming rate, but Embry was too distracted by the cold iron lump in the pit of his stomach to be amused.

"Dad," Bella laughed, elbowing his side.

Charlie spluttered, tearing his eyes away with flustered smile at his daughter. He wiped his hand over his mustache and then turned back with a raging blush but a little more composure. He cleared his throat, "Ah. Nice to meet you, Chanté."

"Chah-lie," she nodded toward the man. "Bella's father."

Reminding him of that fact seemed to break the spell. "Yes I am," he murmured proudly, wrapping an arm around his daughter and pulling her in for a side cheek-hug while she giggled. Both Billy and Charlie were as giddy as two old women about their coming grandson.

Normally Embry would enjoy watching the family interactions – like he always had from the wistful sidelines - but right now he was feeling sick to his stomach.

"What can I do for you?" Embry asked quietly.

Charlie blinked as he turned back, absently releasing his daughter as the mantle of professional duty visibly fell, squaring shoulders and shucking both the smile and blush from his face.

"Can I get a minute out on the porch, son?" his voice was soft and hard at the same time, as he angled his body toward the door.

Embry's eyes darted over his face, searching for clues and finding none. But if the man wanted privacy, they'd have to go a whole hell of a lot farther than that.

"We can talk here," Embry whispered, glancing at Jacob.

His Alpha was hiding his concern under his own professional veneer but he could see the wheels burning rubber in his eyes. Outside a car started down the long driveway and Jacob's gaze automatically darted for the door.

"Alright," Charlie agreed slowly as Embry again met the man's intense gaze. He was worried, regretful. "How 'bout we sit down for few minutes."

And suddenly Embry knew: this had to do with his mother. His blood turned to ice as his stomach plummeted for his toes.

_It must have finally happened._

"Is she dead?" he whispered.

Charlie blinked in a brief moment of surprise. "Who?"

Embry held his gaze. "My mom."

Understanding inflated his eyes. "No," he said quickly. "No, son."

Embry's eyes closed softly as he released a quiet breath over his lips. It _hadn't_ happened… yet. Ever since middle school he'd been wondering how he'd feel when it did – to be left so completely alone in the world. As much as it disgusted him, lately he'd been wondering if _relief_ wouldn't be mixed into that cocktail too.

"But that's why I'm here, son," Charlie murmured, making Embry's eyes snap open. "I need to talk to you about your mother."

Embry tried to swallow but his mouth felt like it was filled with desiccant pebbles.

"How 'bout we sit down, Embry," he suggested again.

With a glance at his daughter, Charlie moved toward the couches.

Finally Embry felt the dark gentle eyes that had been tracing his profile and he looked down at where Chanté was watching him closely. She felt so much a part of him he'd forgotten she was there but his arm had reflexively wound its way around her waist like an anchor. Tightly. _Too_ tightly.

She wasn't complaining.

He quickly loosened his death grip, as his other hand came up to stroke apologetically over her cheek. Those eyes never waivered.

"C'mon, Emb," Jacob's hand on his shoulder roused him and he looked up with a nod.

Embry licked his lips and guided his imprint toward the couch.

Charlie lowered himself stiffly to the far sofa and Bella moved closer, half-sitting on the arm of the easy chair.

Embry led Chanté around the coffee table and waited for her to slip down to the couch before he followed her. With a glance at the man across the way, she scooted closer into his side and her warm hand slipped into his, lacing his anxiety with long comforting fingers.

Out back all laughter and conversation silenced and in the front of the house car doors opened. It didn't matter – there were no secrets in the Pack. At least not for long.

"I'll tell Sam to go around back," Jacob murmured, heading for the door.

"So Embry," Charlie leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his thighs, presumably to make it feel more personal. "I'm gonna be straight with you, son."

He rubbed his lips together making his mustache buckle. Embry squared his shoulders, bracing for the hit while in his periphery his imprint was focused on his eyes.

"The station got an anonymous call yesterday," he began evenly. "About your mother sellin' a few drugs down at the hospital."

The bottom dropped out of Embry's world, sucking him with it.

Like he'd fallen into a 100 foot well, the words continued to echo strangely in his ears as he stared numbly at the stranger across the coffee table.

"_Dad_!" Bella's shriek shattered the silence.

Jacob froze on the way to the door. "Bells," he warned quietly.

Bella bolted to her feet, tears springing to her eyes. "I can't _believe_ you-…"

"Honey," Jacob interrupted quickly, crossing the room and wrapping her in his arms. "Shh, this is his job," he whispered, as he gently turned the distraught woman toward the edge of the room.

Embry still hadn't moved a muscle… or taken a breath.

After the emotionality of the day, the levels of adrenaline and cortisol and whatever other fucking hormone cocktail went with being a wolf were already running high. His body felt toxic and he was having trouble comprehending what was happening.

Charlie tore his eyes from his daughter and met his gaze with a sickeningly sympathetic frown.

And it hit him like a ton of bricks: Paul.

_This_ is what he was talking about in the kitchen. _He'd _made the call.

Embry sucked in his first breath through gritted teeth with a hiss.

"So, the boys went down to the hospital today to do a little diggin'," Charlie continued, keeping his voice low and even. "They got a few people to speak up. 'Parently they let her go on Friday for gettin' high on the job. Did you know 'bout that?"

Embry's swallow squirted painfully as he shook his head and he squeezed his imprint's hand tighter.

He felt Chanté's eyes caress over his profile one more time and then she leaned her cheek on his shoulder, nestling against him. Her soft heat, the beautiful sound of her heart, her breath that hitched quietly with the emotion she shared… it kept him grounded in the world.

The front door opened behind him and Charlie looked up.

Embry didn't. He just focused on his imprint and trying to breathe through the tornado that was roaring through his head.

"_Sam_-…" Jacob's bass warned.

"We're just going out back," Sam's voice was quiet, but testy. With lupine senses, he'd have known exactly what he was walking into.

Whatever silently happened between his Alpha and Beta, in the next moment the door was closed and a near-silent lupine footstep, accompanied by a woman's gait, moved across the room.

Embry jumped as a big hand clamped heavily on his shoulder from behind.

He glanced behind him at Sam's loaded stare and that deep voice spoke a single word that was worth a million, "Brother."

Nodding minutely, Embry turned back to Charlie's patient stare. Bella had obviously told him about yesterday's reveal.

That hand squeezed his shoulder and then slipped away as the wolf strode, head high, spine proud across the room with Emily on his arm, casting worried glances over her shoulder. They disappeared into the kitchen and moments later the back door opened and closed.

"So, Embry," Charlie drew his attention again. "Once crap gets on the books like this, I gotta see it through, but there're two ways we can handle this. I came to ask you what you wanna do."

Embry glanced down at his imprint – both arms wrapped around his bicep, she had her cheek pressed to his shoulder and eyes closed. He covered their joined hands with his palm and returned his attention to Bella's father.

"The hospital gave 'em probable cause so they got a search warrant for your place, son," he continued quietly. "And you know Billy lets me help out down here every now and again, but we could also ask 'em to deny me jurisdiction on sovereign lands. Then you'd just have to keep your mom outta town."

Embry closed his eyes as something started pulling so taut it trembled in his chest.

"If we do a search and find evidence," his voice was soft, more like a father than a cop. "She'd get some time."

Blood was thrumming rhythmically in Embry's ears like he was being strangled and the pressure pushed his cantering heart painfully against his ribs. It felt like any second he was going to combust and spray a million bloody pieces all over the wall.

He heard the man lick his lips as he shifted on the couch. "And son, sometimes that's a _good_ thing," he said quietly. " 'Gives folks time to sober up. And there's programs inside that help 'em learn how to stay that way…"

_How could he betray his own mother?_

It felt like a tidal wave of pressure was pushing against a door he was bracing against with all his strength. Clenching his eyes, Embry tried to hold it back.

"Embry… 'this been going on for a while?"

But at those simple words, it all tumbled over him.

And he broke.

With a hoarse bark, he fell over his lap, catching his face in his palms as years of pain bubbled free in full-body sobs while memories flooded through his veins, cold and thick like cyanide:

_His mother forgetting his fifth-grade play where he'd actually had a speaking part for once in his life... __She'd also forgotten to pick him up.  
Too ashamed to ask for a ride he'd walked the six miles home in the dark. _

_Long middle school nights spent sitting beside her where she was passed out on the couch,  
terrified she'd stop breathing. _

_High school years where she'd disappear for several days at a time, sometimes with an empty fridge. _

_Then the last five, filled with curses and violence or slurred weeping and vomit._

Warm fingers, combing slowly through his hair, shocked the hell out of him and his body seized.

"Emmie," a breathy voice spilled like honey in his ear. "Emmie, look." His hands were coaxed from his face and silken palms slid along his jaw, cradling his face and tipping it gently up.

Choking on his sobs, swollen lids lifted to the most beautiful eyes in the world. Tears spilled freely down Chanté's flawless cheeks, but her gaze was steady, quiet.

"Oh, Emmie," she whispered, leaning in to touch his nose. She nuzzled into him, rubbing first one cheek and then the other over his, mingling their tears while his breath hiccupped miserably on.

Chanté pulled back slowly, fingertips brushing his hair from his face and then carefully sweeping away his tears. Dark still eyes washed over him with tenderness and relish, like he was the most precious person in the world.

He clung to that gaze for dear life.

Canting her head with a caring pucker between her brows, her thumb wiped away the snot streaming from his nose and wiped it absently on her dress. Something about it made his heart ache.

"It hurts," she breathed, looking deep into his eyes while her own tears swam freely down her cheeks. "Let it hurt, Emmie."

His breath skittered to a stop on his lips as he blinked, mesmerized by that gaze – so giving, so accepting, _so kind. S_haring his pain, gifting her comfort, lending her strength.

Even though she hurt too.

Only three years in the world, and she carried such heavy memories: her mother screaming while she was raped and killed; her brothers suffering a long slow death at the hands of demons. But she accepted it all and focused on what she could give to the present instead of what she'd lost to the past.

"Yours," full bow lips cut the word from a breath and then leaned in and dusted a kiss on his lips that was so light and tender it sparkled. "I make you feel better?"

_Oh, she really did. _

Sucking in a juicy breath, Embry sat up and turned into his tee shirt sleeve, brusquely mopping his face.

Chanté's hands fell to his thigh as she watched him with eyes that were patient, gentle, quiet… _loving_.

It was everything he'd ever wanted.

"C'mere, sweetheart," he whispered, reaching out to her.

She melted into his arms and he pulled her into his lap, swaddling her against him, as she buried her face in his neck.

Stroking a cherishing hand over her head, his gaze lifted to the man across the coffee table. Charlie stared back with tears shining in bloodshot eyes.

Embry swallowed and squared his jaw. "Tell them to start with the box under the couch…"

'

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_Review if you like._


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